Unexpected Truths
by abe-sa
Summary: A quiet day at Grimmauld Place is disrupted by the DE kidnapping Hermione. During and after the crisis truths are uncovered and things change. H/Hr, light Weasleys bashing.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter One

* * *

Harry and Ron were sitting in the drawing room at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters, n. 12 Grimmauld Place, playing chess; as usual, Ron was still winning every game, but not that easily anymore: after six years it seemed Harry had learned some of the basic strategies and their counters. Not that Harry cared very much if he lost or not: the whole point of the game was to distract him from what would happen in the next few days, a sort of last peaceful moment before they had to leave the Order headquarters and start looking for Voldemort's horcruxes.

During these games their choice of conversation topic was of course their other best friend, who was, at the moment, absent.

"Ohi, Harry, where did you say Hermione is today?" asked Ron.

"She went to visit her parents, and I for one am glad that she was able to do it, she deserves some time with them before we set off to search for the damned horcruxes; we don't even know how much time that will take and she has every right to be with them", replied Harry.

"Uhmpff, I'll never understand why she wants to stay with some stupid muggles instead of here with me"; the surly redhead's answer caused Harry to look him straight in the eyes.

"Ron, do I have to remind you that you just insulted her parents? She may not be here, so she cannot hear what you just said, but I think she would be really annoyed if she were. After all she is your girlfriend and, if your relationship proceeds in that direction, they will be your in-laws one day: you will just have to understand and accept them, for Hermione's happiness; I assure you they are very good people".

"Bah, whatever." Not exactly the answer Harry had hoped to get from Ron, but he supposed those were problems he and Hermione would have to settle between themselves. Still...

"Well, I know our styles when dealing with our girlfriends' parents are different, but it would do you no harm to try; look at me, your parents still like me, even if I broke up with Ginny at Dumbledore's funeral." Looking at Ron's reaction when he said this, Harry could easily see that his last comment had nearly done more harm than good with the current subject, so Harry dropped it and went back to try and win his first game at wizard chess against Ron.

* * *

After enjoying a quiet lunch with her parents, Hermione decided it was time to talk about what she was about to do in a few weeks time.

"Mum, Dad? Can we talk for a few minutes?" Her voice was almost pleading, a clear indication that her chosen topic would not be liked by her parents.

"Sure, dear. What do you want to talk about?" Her mother voice was almost completely devoid of any indication that she had caught on her daughter's tone at once. However, Hermione was too bright to be fooled by it.

"Well, you see..." and in the following hour, Hermione proceeded to tell her parents about what she, Harry and Ron had to do, with actually as few details as possible, instead of returning to school for their seventh year "...so we will be leaving in a few weeks time. I will not tell you where we are going, mainly because we do not know either, but also because your minds are not protected and any wizard with at least a passing ability at legilimency would be able to get that information from you, whether you want it or not."

Her father was less than thrilled with her explanations and had no qualms telling her so. "Hermione, we understand that you want to help your friends, but from what you said, it's going to be a very dangerous journey and I do not want you anywhere near those bloody objects!"

"I don't want to have to do this either, Dad, but I want to do it: it's my decision to make and I will not change it. I'm sorry if what I'm about to say will sound harsh, but I could easily enough have your memories of me charmed so you would not even remember you have a daughter, then ship you to the other side of the planet to hide you from the war that we are fighting. I don't want to do that and I would very much appreciate you being here to support me along the way instead." It was clear that their daughter had carefully rehearsed this conversation, so in the end, as the wonderful parents they were, they relented and told her that she would always have their support, whatever path in life she choose to follow.

It was her mother that summed it up: "Hermione, you know that we will always be here for you, even if we do not like what you decide. Never forget that."

"Thank you Mum, I won't."

* * *

Outside the Grangers house about a dozen masked figures choose that moment to apparate as silently as they could around the property and immediately set out to weaken and breach the wards that protected the house. Unfortunately, those where very standard wards, nothing like what protected n. 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging, for example, so the methods used to get rid of them where also well known, to the point that no sound was made until the moment the entire magical construct collapsed.

Unfortunately for the Grangers, no Order member had been posted to guard the house, because, Hermione's connection with Harry Potter notwithstanding, the Granger family was not considered a target worthy of active protection. However that single decision would have big consequences from that moment on.

All the Death Eaters present rushed to storm the house from all sides, but the final result would have been the same even if they had taken their sweet time: outnumbered twelve-to-one, Hermione did not last much in the fight, and was easily overpowered.

Just for fun, the Death Eaters cast a few curses at Hermione's parents, laughing when both fell to the floor and started convulsing. After a few minutes, Mrs. Granger was already unconscious, given that she had been hit more than her husband, while he was struggling to try and stand. The attackers leader realized that the entertainment value of the situation was rapidly diminishing, so he ordered his men to start going back to their hideout.

Before he left, however, he said: "Well, it's been a fun afternoon and we got what we wanted: the brightest witch of her age! Eh, eh, eh! I wonder if, after tomorrow, she will be referred to as the brightest Bitch of her age, it would describe her much more accurately... or better even, the brightest whore... Just be sure you tell Harry Potter that the Dark Lord will be pleased with his new plaything, at least for now... you never know when his... fancy... is going to change! Ah, ah, ah." And with that, the Death Eaters apparated away, but not before one of them cast the dark mark above the Grangers' house while another finally rendered Mr. Granger unconscious with a new repetition of the Cruciatus curse.

The visible result of the brief skirmish was that some parts of the house had caught fire and was now burning steadily, but the emotional damage was much heavier, and it had not even shown itself completely.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Two

* * *

Mr. Granger slowly regained consciousness during the examinations a couple of paramedics were performing on him; Apparently, one of the neighbors has seen the fire and called for help. In a few minutes, the Fire Brigade, Policemen and an ambulance arrived on the scene and quickly set to work.  
His body ached all over 'Damned curses', he thought and immediately remembered what happened.

"My wife and my daughter, how are they?" he asked, trying to get up, but the same paramedics that helped him kept him down on the stretcher.

"Your wife is still unconscious, although we do not know why: her vital signs are normal, but she just won't wake up. As for your daughter... we don't know where she is." One of the doctors told him.

"...told you, it seems there was a fight, and we have scorch marks on the walls, but I'm sure it's not bullets, sir... No, the daughter is not here, sir... we think the tugs took her..." a Policeman spoke into his radio, evidently talking with a superior.

"What do you mean Hermione has been taken! I remember those bastards surrounding and then storming the house, then being hit with something and losing consciousness. I don't remember seeing someone taking Hermione!" Mr. Granger heard part of the conversation the policeman was having with his boss and became frantic looking around for his cell phone.

Having reached it, he began punching the buttons furiously "Come on, Come on! Harry answer the phone!" Fortunately, Harry Potter's cell phone number was on speed dial #4 on his mobile, otherwise he would never have been able to remember the young man's number.

After two or three rings, the other end picked up, "Hello, Harry Potter speaking." Harry seemed slightly worried, but nothing like he would be after he heard what had happened.

"Harry, it's Mr. Granger! The Death Eaters... they attacked us and kidnapped Hermione! Please, you have to help us!"

"What! Mr. Granger, I'll be there as soon as I can!" Without another word the line went mute, but the anger and worry in Harry's voice had been coming through clearly.

Suddenly, the fireplace in the Grangers' household roared with green flames where a moment before it was not even burning. Looking like an angel of vengeance, with his eyes already bloodshot and radiating power in all directions, Harry Potter arrived at the Grangers' House.

Mr. Granger became instantly worried "Harry, the Statute of Secrecy!" he almost shouted.

"At the moment, Mr. Granger, I don't give a damn about that. How is Mrs. Granger?" Harry added, seeing the woman still on the floor.

"She seems to be OK, but the doctors aren't able to wake her up."

"Of course, if it's the aftereffects of a dark curse, anything they did would not help her and she would wake up on her own when the remaining dark energy of the curse is cleansed. Any idea of what they cursed her with?" Harry asked at last.

"If I'm not mistaken, from what Hermione said, it should be one of the Unforgivables, the Cruciatus? Is that its name?" Mr. Granger's answer was not completely confident but it was more than enough for Harry.

Approaching Mrs. Granger, he addressed the doctors: "You! Get out of my way!" Harry spat at those who where still working busily around her.

"What do you want, young man? Do not distract them from their job! They are trying to save that woman! You have no right to tell them to move! And where did you come from? I saw you pop out of that fireplace, but that's not possible, what's going on?" One of the Policemen retorted.

"Explaining that to you and your friends would be wasting time, you would never remember it after our people come to do some cleaning up. Now step aside, before I do something I would regret later!" And pointing his wand to the still unconscious Mrs. Granger he said "Enervate!" Harry had his wand out of his holster even before he stepped through the fireplace and at this point he had no qualms using it in front of a bunch of muggles. Luckily, Mrs. Granger immediately showed signs of awakening.

The moment she woke, however, she started convulsing "Oh, crap, the bloody Cruciatus! I should have known." Harry swore and set off running to the fireplace. Throwing some floo powder in it he called "Madam Pomfrey! I need to take the Grangers at headquarters! Mrs. Granger is convulsing due to the effects of the Cruciatus and the muggle doctors here can do nothing about it!"

"Agents, please try to stop that kid, I don't know what he is talking about, but I won't let my patients be taken anywhere!" One of the paramedics yelled at the policemen.

"Harry, I'm sending Shacklebolt, Tonks and Moody to your side, because from the sound of things, they also have some cleaning up to do. Then we will take the Grangers here." As usual, Madam Pomfrey had an immediate and very solid grasp on any emergency situation, a skill honed to perfection in many years on duty in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, and had already started giving orders like a general.

Twenty seconds later the three aurors flooed to the Grangers' and, with some difficulties, Moody started obliviating every muggle around, while the other two and Harry helped the Grangers go to Headquarters.

Some time before Harry was still playing with Ron when he felt the first flash of pain, and was puzzled about what could have caused it. What he knew for sure was that it was not his usual brand of pain, the one coming from his scar and, ultimately, from Voldemort. That had been 10 minutes earlier.  
The next two bursts made him realize that the source of this pain was the partial mind link he shared with Hermione, and that immediately put him on edge.

'Damn, I hope Hermione is all right, it's the first time I got pain from her side...' thinking about that had him spacing out on Ron to mull over that strange mind link that Harry and Hermione had with each other and what they had found it allowed them to do: they were able to share their strongest emotions, some partial thoughts and could even get an idea of where the other was relative to oneself.

"Hey, Harry, you still there?" Ron asked, snapping Harry out of his contemplative state.

"Uh, yeah, just a lot on my mind, nothing to worry about."

"OK... I think I mopped the floor with you enough for one day, I'll leave you to your funk." The smirk on Ron's face for his unbroken row of victories at chess was anything but small. Still, Harry did not even notice it and just nodded an affirmative to his friend.

The first time Harry and Hermione shared their 'minds' they became concerned about privacy issues: both of them were pretty reserved people, and even trusting each other completely, there were some things they preferred to keep private. Fortunately, their link allowed them to do so without much trouble, because in order to share anything they had to explicitly allow the other to connect, use enough power to perform the link and be not too far away from each other. They had decided to not tell about this ability to anyone, not even their current significant others, because it was really something that concerned only the two of them.

'Those experiments Hermione insisted on doing were really weird, but useful too... we thought we had a pretty good idea of what we could do with the link, but it seems that we can share more than positive things, and we never even considered that...'

Harry's musings continued at an increased pace now that Ron was not there to distract him. Harry and Hermione had practiced on the link for about a month before term's end and again for the few weeks they had been staying at Headquarters. They even tried while Harry was at the Dursleys' or Hermione at her parents', but apparently they were too far from each other to connect. About three miles was the limit they could push it without loosing contact, but they had hopes to be able to go much further than that, because when they started they could not even reach a hundred yards.

Just as Harry was about to go and get some tea from the kitchen, his cell phone rang, startling him. He had bought it to be able to talk to Hermione when she was at home, but did not expect any call today, as she had gone to her parents' just a few hours before. To his surprise it was Hermione's father calling him, and this, added to the pain twinges he had felt a few minutes earlier had him even more worried.

With a movements that seemed slowed down, he answered the call on the third ring. "Hello, Harry Potter speaking..."

After a brief pause to listen to Mr. Granger, he exclaimed: "What! Mr. Granger, I'll be there as soon as I can!" and just like that he hung up.

Rushing to the nearest fireplace, he grabbed some floo powder, threw it in the flames and with a shout of "Granger's residence!" was gone even before anyone else could ask him what the problem was.

The Order members that were present at headquarters clustered near the fireplace, waiting for any news, curious about Harry's hasty departure.

A few minutes later Harry's voice came from the fireplace calling for Madam Pomfrey; upon her inquiry about what the problem was, he told her that he needed to take both Mr. and Mrs. Granger to Grimmauld Place because Hermione's mother was convulsing due to the effects of the Cruciatus, about which the muggle doctors present could do nothing.

'Muggle doctors! He went there via the floo with muggles around! What was he thinking?' Madam Pomfrey was not happy about the situation and not just because someone had just been attacked with one of the Unforgivables, but also because Harry totally disregarded the Statute of Secrecy in his haste to reach his destination. To make things even worse, it seemed that the muggles were about to interfere and she could not allow that.

"Harry, I'm sending Shacklebolt, Tonks and Moody to your side, because from the sound of things, they also have some cleaning up to do. Then we will take the Grangers here." The three aurors acknowledged Madame Pomfrey's orders even before she could turn her head and bark them out: in a few seconds the 'cleanup team' was on its way to solve the problem. Harry and the Grangers came out of the fireplace just moments after she had finished giving instructions and were immediately rushed where the Mediwitch could look them over.

Not long after Harry's return from the Grangers', the three aurors came back too, reporting that the "situation" had been addressed. Everyone gathered in the drawing room, because they wanted to know what had happened and if there were any clues as to where Hermione could have been taken.

"Mr. Granger, can you tell us what happened to you and your family?" Harry's voice was almost hysteric while he asked a question he dreaded to have answered.

"Yes, I have been able to stay conscious for most of the time, so I can certainly tell you. The three of us where in the sitting room having a chat about something Hermione decided to do in the next weeks" and here Mr. Granger shot a furtive look to Harry "when suddenly we heard a noise coming from the outside. Hermione realized something was wrong and took her wand out, but when the bastards surrounded and stormed the house, she couldn't do much and was overpowered quickly. Then they cast a few curses at us, yelling something like 'Crucio', is that something you know?" brief nods were all the answer he got "more at my wife than me. After that, most of them left with Hermione while one told me to be sure to tell you that the Dark Lord would be pleased with his new plaything, at least for the time being. He then went outside and shouted something before disappearing. I lost consciousness when one of them hit me again with that blasted curse before leaving; when I woke up some time later I found the police, fire brigade and the ambulance already there. You know the rest."

Mr. Granger's voice fell silent and everyone sat stunned around the room to digest the news. Everyone, that is, except Harry Potter, who got up and began pacing around the room, anger and worry for Hermione radiating off of him in great, thick waves of raw power.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Three

* * *

It took very little time to assemble an emergency meeting of the Order, given that most of the members were already at headquarters. In the drawing room Professor McGonagall was waiting for everyone to settle down before beginning the discussion. Attending were aurors Moody, Shacklebolt and Tonks, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George and Molly Weasleys (the other members of the large family were still at work or otherwise occupied), Madam Pomfrey and, of course, Harry Potter. Some other Order members where there as well.

After a short recap of what happened at the Grangers' house, the Order began discussing their options on what to do and how to handle the situation. Harry was actually the first to speak to the entire group, asking for their support in planning and executing a rescue mission for Hermione. Contrary to what he expected, more people were opposing the idea than supporting it, with Moody being the most adamant in telling that there was nothing they could do.

"At the moment, we do not have the resources to mount a rescue mission, and we must remember that the girl is not even a member of the Order. Further, her strategic value is almost nil, so there is no reason to even try. It's her bad luck, but she does not have any information that could be revealed to Voldemort. I ask for a formal vote on this request, and I for one say not to do it." Moody's blunt way with words was legendary and, while Harry normally considered it a good thing, it still hurt that an auror could be so callous about condemning someone to such a horrible fate.

'Neither he nor the rest of the Order know about the horcruxes and the enormous quantity of knowledge Hermione has amassed about them... it's only logical that they would reach this decision based on their incomplete information' Thought Harry while listening to the old auror's speech 'but all the same they are not even considering what they know of the situation! That Death Eater clearly said that they got what they came to get, and this means that either Voldemort knows something about his horcruxes is not as it should be, or he decided to try and remove the brain of our trio and one of my closest friends to in the process. In both cases, this attack was directed to undermine my support base, but the Order doesn't seem to realize it. It still hurts, tough.' Harry's quiet and rational thoughts surprised him, as it was usually Hermione that had to make this kind of analysis on what was said... then again, with her missing, that duty had to fall on someone else in their very small group and Ron was not exactly a scholar.

After Moody's declaration, a vote was quickly held with the majority of votes supporting the old auror's stance; only Professor McGonagall, Madame Pomfrey, Professor Lupin, Tonks and the Weasleys twins and of course Harry voted to try and rescue Hermione but their number was not enough, the Order would not help with Hermione's kidnapping. Even more shockingly for Harry was how Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley voted: all against attempting the rescue, with Molly even casting negative votes on behalf of Arthur, Bill and Charlie.

If Harry was angry before the meeting, he was now furious and even those that supported his attempt to get the Order's help were not immune from his yells "I can't believe any of you could be capable of such cowardice! It's like a nightmare, even her closest friend are turning against her!" the glare he directed to the Weasleys would have been able to melt stone for its intensity.

"Mr. Potter! Please don't think for a minute we would not help Hermione! We cannot change the decision of the Order, but we can still help you on our own!" Professor McGonagall said, speaking for the others that were on his side too.

Harry nodded in acceptance of her words, but his next words were laced with venom "Well, if that's the Order decision, then let it be known that I WILL try and rescue her, with or without your help! She is my best friend and the only person that remained faithfully at my side through everything that has happened to me since coming to Hogwarts! I will not leave her to suffer at the hands of Voldemort, she deserves no less from me after all these years!"

After just the time to draw a breath he continued "Ron, you will help me, right? Come on, we have a plan to make!" while taking the first step towards the stairs and the privacy of his bedroom.

However, the words coming from Ron were not what he expected "Hmm, no, Harry, I think I'll sit this one out."

Stunned, Harry stopped dead in his track "What! Why? Ron, did you forget she is your girlfriend? You have responsibilities towards her! You know what the Death Eaters would do to her if we do not get her back and quickly! She would be repeatedly raped, tortured for Merlin only knows how long and then killed! How can you even think of not doing anything?" Harry's voice was growing in volume and pitch by the minute, a clear sign he was being dealt too many blows in too short a time.

"Well, yes, about my relationship with Hermione..." Ron began.

"What?"

"... I think it's high time you stopped being so naive about it. You should have understood a long time ago that I'm with her for a reason only: I wanted to shag her, after being sure I would have been her first; that would have given me something that you would never be able to have, Hermione's virginity. After that I would have simply dumped her. She was ever good for one thing only, you understand, and that was as a way for me to go through my school years doing the least work possible. When you started showing an interest in her as more than a friend, I thought that I could take advantage of the situation and try to get something from her you then could never have. I never really liked her, so it shouldn't be a surprise how I'm reacting to her predicament. While I will not have what I want from her if the Death Eater have their fun with her, you would not have it either and that is enough for me."

'Someone please tell me this is just a horrible, sick, bloody nightmare! I cannot believe what Ron just said, his friendship with us was just a lie and all he ever wanted with Hermione was to satisfy his animalistic urges! Thank god Hermione's parents are resting in one of the bedroom upstairs, otherwise I think they would try and kill Ron with their bare hands! And I would be RIGHT BESIDE THEM to help!' Harry's gobsmacked expression told everyone in the room that Ron's little speech was not what he expected to hear... the fact that at least some of the others were almost as surprised was easily overlooked in light of who the main actors of the current drama were.

Still gaping like a fish, Harry tore his look from Ron to direct it to Ginny and then to Mrs. Weasley, in the process adding shock to his already fractured face, for both females were wearing smirks on their faces.

Ginny almost laughed when Harry looked at her; instead, she said "I may have acted like a friend to Hermione, but I always considered her the most problematic competition for your heart, Harry. Now that she is about to become another casualty of the war, I'm sure I'll have a clear shot at you. You'll see, we will be married immediately after you win for us."

The look of approval that Mrs. Weasley was favoring her daughter with sent icy spikes through Harry's heart, but when she spoke it was almost too much for him to bear "You seem shocked at our behavior, Harry dear, but I want you to know that what Ron said and did came from an idea I had some years ago. He needed something to boost his confidence and I thought that getting Hermione would be a great way to do just that: it would have been a big victory over you, and he would have some fun in the process. This situation just came too early, but he would have dumped her before long: after all, aside from her value as a 'learning experience', she is just a muggle born and none of them is good enough to be one of my daughters-in-law, we never considered her wife material."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Four

* * *

Weren't it for the fact he was still standing and his eyes were furiously blinking, Harry's state of mind would have been the same as after being hit by a stunner, that is to say, a blank slate with no thought capability to speak of. A quick sweep of the room would reveal almost identical conditions applied to at least Professors McGonagall, Lupin, auror Tonks and Madam Pomfrey. As it was, Harry needed nearly a minute to regain the use of his body and when that happened he began gearing up for an anger explosion the like of which nobody ever had the misfortune of witnessing.

It was just not meant to be, because just seconds before he let loose, Moody opened his mouth to add another insult to what he had already received "Potter, we don't care if you do not agree with us and are angry at the situation. Know that we will not try to rescue the girl and will not let you set a foot outside of this house for any reason whatsoever. You will forget about her in time."

Without even opening his mouth once, Harry stormed out of the room and up the stairs.

'And these are the supposed defenders of the wizarding world? No wonder we are so screwed, if these are the "Light" I don't want to know the real "Darkness"! They seem to have no qualms in using people for their benefit, and don't give a damn about their little tools being broken or lost in the process. And if that was not enough, they also remind you at every step that you are not good enough to be associated with them! Why do we even fight? With attitudes like these it's like we have already lost! It doesn't matter if we somehow manage to kill that bastard of Voldemort, someone else would always come forward to try and claim what he thinks is his rightful prerogative!' Harry's thoughts during his flight to the master bedroom were starting to depress him, and if he wanted to be able to help Hermione he could not let that continue.

'I don't care what Moody wants, I'll rescue Hermione if I have to go to Hell and back alone and on my knees, and the Order of the Phoenix be damned!' Harry's righteous anger was still running high, but was rapidly fading in light of what he had to do.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall was trying to talk to the three Weasleys about what they just revealed, but was not having a lot of success: they simply ignored her and retired in one of the rooms upstairs; as a way to ensure nobody bothered them, they even put some locking and privacy charms up, so the others simply let them alone after just a few minutes.

Inside the master bedroom, Harry was already thinking long and hard about what he needed to do to overcome all the obstacles on the path of his chosen mission. There were not many options for what he wanted, almost none in fact, but he realized that, as dangerous and difficult to execute the idea he had been thinking over the last few minute was, he would have only one shot at it. That being the case, he could not go about it in his usual way, following gut instincts and hoping his good luck held. He had to do it the Hermione way, thinking things through, starting from the little information he had and building a plan that would take into account every single problem that could arise and include all the contingencies he could think of.

He was not accustomed to this way of doing things and at first was nearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of details he had to address, but there really was one response to that feeling. 'For Hermione, I'll pull this through; she always manages to deliver a working plan no matter the pressure, the time constraints or the difficulty of the situation. For her I can do no less.' Soldiering on, he resumed his planning.

'OK, Harry, first of all you need to calm down, or you'll end up on a wild goose search with no hope to be successful' and with that mental lecture to himself, he began to take deep breaths and do a little bit of meditation, thanking Hermione once again for teaching him how to do that for their experiments with the mind link. After slipping gradually into the meditative state, one of the first things he realized was that he had no information at all on where to look for her: whatever method of travel the Death Eaters had used, it was most likely of the untraceable variety. However, his thinking of their mind link practice sessions gave him a possible answer on how to locate her, the main problem being the limited range they were able to reach... but that was essentially a direct consequence of how much energy they could pour into the link. Even if Harry had never reached his limit, not by a long shot, Hermione had always insisted on trying to balance their power expenditure; in essence she had been the one limiting the range as she was not as powerful as Harry. In this case he felt that he could reach a lot farther if he used his maximum potential and that gave him hope that this method of locating her would be successful. It was the only thing he could use anyway.

'So, provided I can locate her, then I have to get to her; that in itself is a complex problem: I have to overcome the wards here at headquarters, apparate near her over a possibly long distance, punch through any wards that no doubt surround whatever location she is being kept at AND THEN do it all again for the return trip. OK, let's see what could help me... the wards here are ancient and powerful and there is the Fidelius charm to consider... Hey, Just a sec!' suddenly something he had nearly forgot (and that he really hoped the order HAD forgot, at this point) came back to him: '...since Sirius died, I OWN this place! Even if I'm not a Black by blood, the wards should have aligned with me at least partially! This should make getting out of here easier; it would still need a lot of power, but surely less than it would otherwise!'

A new side problem also presented itself, 'I also have to keep the Order from interfering with me during the execution of the plan. With the amount of energy I'll likely have to employ, they would feel it immediately and be here to stop me even faster... I could use the locking and privacy charms, but in their everyday form those would never be able to withstand an attack for too long, certainly not as long as I would need; again this seems another problem solvable only if I have enough energy to spend on it.' A mirthless laugh escaped his mouth 'And to think that all of this was just to be able to work in relative peace to try and locate Hermione and to get out of the house undisturbed! I'm beginning to understands why she feels always so nervous about my usual approach to adventures: the planning that needs to be done before hand is enormous!' His appreciation for Hermione's mind and organizational abilities would grow a lot in the next few minutes.  
'I also have to consider the possibility (or should that be certainty?) of encountering resistance at the enemy hideout... but at least on the return trip we do not need to go through the wards here: we can just land in the alley behind the house and walk the rest of the way'.

It was almost too much, but he was not a Gryffindor for nothing, and there was no way he would give up before he even tried. At the end of his "analysis" session (it was still too vague to be called a plan), he reached the conclusion that it all boiled down to having enough energy to do everything he needed to do.

Again, his experiments with Hermione gave him an idea: if he could mentally reach Hermione, he would be able to locate her much more easily, since she would then work with him actively and not be simply a passive element in the process. Two problems where still present with this line of reasoning: Hermione did not have the same amount of raw power he had, so she could not lower the energy requirements by that much (and even then it would still leave her exhausted) and the amount of energy needed would still be staggering. He could not do anything about the first problem, but the second could be overcome, at the cost of taking a big risk when doing it and getting a nasty tongue leashing later from Hermione (tough, if he was really truthful about it, he would be more than happy to actually GET that scolding - if Hermione WAS the one to deliver it once this crisis was over: that she would have the opportunity would have been the most wonderful reward in the world for him).

During their experiments, Harry and Hermione had determined that they could reach each other over greater distances if they put more power in the link, but had always tried to keep the energy expenditure even between the two of them, effectively limiting the range of communication to what Hermione could achieve. But Harry could give a lot more due to his magical core's capability to produce and handle larger quantities of power, even if the more he used, the more it became chaotic and difficult to control.

At the moment, however, he had more at his disposal to do the job than he would normally have: the anger he still felt before (toward the Death Eaters and Voldemort and toward the Weasleys - he could understand the Order's stance on the matter even if he did not like it at all, but the Weasleys were simply inexcusable), and the concern about Hermione's safety were being channeled as mental energies to help him think straight; those same feeling, smoldering under the surface, were also causing a lot of adrenaline to be pumped in his bloodstream, giving him the physical endurance to keep himself on track to achieve the long list of intermediate steps to his final goal: free Hermione and take her home safe and sound.

Hermione lay unconscious on the floor of the small cell they put her in. At the moment she could not feel much, but during a brief spell of awareness about a hour earlier she had determined her situation to be quite bleak: physically, she was not too badly wounded, just a couple of broken ribs and a few bruises, but she was exhausted and of course they had taken her wand. On the plus side, it seemed they hadn't done anything to her... yet. She did not know why, but for now it was a good thing. On the other hand, she was still held in a cell by a band of mad, sadistic murderers, with no way of contacting her friends or the Order. If that was not bad enough, she still had to add the fact she was a muggle born while her captors preached the most orthodox views about blood purity, and that she was one of the closest friends of Harry Potter, Voldemort's sworn enemy. All in all, not a very good combination, and even with all her cleverness she could not think about any outcome of this situation that could be considered positive at the moment. The only thing that crossed her mind before her body slumped into unconsciousness again, mercifully erasing her current train of thought was 'Harry...'

His analysis of the situation complete, Harry set out to begin in earnest: almost two hours had passed since the kidnapping, and he did not know how much time Hermione would still have before something... he did not even want to complete the thought.

So, first of all, to ensure no one would disturb him. Lacking the knowledge to use anything more advanced, he cast the normal locking charms on the entire room, but with about five times more power than usual: a pretty noticeable difference, but he hoped the Order would pass it off as a result of his current mind state and not dwell on it too much. Even at this level the charms would not be up to too much beating if someone really wanted to enter, but would ensure at least a window of 10 minutes to be undisturbed, and besides he could always strengthen them later, if needed.

Then, he began gathering energy to power the mind link: slowly, he started his mental probe in all directions, not knowing where she was in respect to him. The range of the probe increased at a steady but controlled pace, until it reached the maximum he ever did with Hermione. Pausing briefly to focus his mental control better, he pushed forward and expanded the radius of his probe. The area covered by his scan increased quadratically with the range and not linearly of course, thus forcing him to take his time while trying to feel for Hermione's presence, but fortunately, he was in London, so he reached the east and south coasts of Great Britain relatively quickly; being mindful of sweeping in the directions he remembered the little British islands were before retreating his probe, he started focusing his efforts to the west and north. Already he was covering more ground than he ever did but was aware that he was losing some of the accuracy needed to recognize Hermione's specific "presence" and was forced to slow down some more.

The time elapsed since he began his search was easily three times what he had hoped he would get with the privacy charms, but it seemed that the Order members at headquarters still thought he was simply blowing off steam at his forced impotence about the situation. As far as he was concerned, that was really fine. Suddenly, after about 45 minutes, something familiar entered his field of perception, in direction North-Northwest from a distance (that he could estimate) of about 150 miles. The feeling was not exactly what he was used from Hermione at a much closer range, but was really an almost exact match. Debating briefly if he could risk pulling the wide area probe in favor a of a narrow "beam-shaped" one, he decided to pour his every sense on that spot to try and get a better feel of it. Once he did so, he could tell that the mind he felt was really Hermione's, and that was a great relief for his worried self, but her presence still was not the same as it should be.

Following his carefully crafted plan (for him, anyway), he tried to contact her. Initially she did not respond, but after he sent a couple of small energy bursts her way, she sluggishly acknowledged his presence; now having the two-way connection open, he could understand why her signal was off: she was probably unconscious and only her subconscious was answering Harry's familiar presence. Nevertheless he could now feel her, so he set about gathering enough energy for all the steps he still had to do to accomplish his mission, but not before allowing himself to whisper 'Hermione...'


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Five

* * *

Even Hermione's subconscious was apt to analyze the things that happened or wandered within the range of its perception, and when Harry's probe made itself known, this process began in earnest. Her subconscious recognized his mind patterns almost immediately, so the link between the two of them was opened nearly at the same level as any other time, even if she still was not completely functional to hold a full conversation with Harry. However, his mere presence set off the release of various endorphins in her brain, with the effect of calming her significantly. This, in turn, caused her awareness to get much closer to the surface of her mind and the mental echo of his whisper was enough to make her complete the transition, thus allowing her to regain her senses with the wonderful sensation of his presence.

They both could then feel the other, with Hermione immediately becoming curious about what Harry was trying to do. At the risk of losing his concentration on the energy gathering, Harry sent some explanations her way; after having heard what he was trying to do, she was not too keen on the idea of him using so much power, especially since he had never tried something like that before but, due to the circumstances she found herself in, had to relent.  
She also began dissecting his half-baked plan in search of any gaping hole he had not considered. The plan was full of big "if"s, and the execution time was of the essence, but if he could manage the power requirements (and, considering he had successfully contacted her while she was unconscious and about 150 miles away, she really thought he could), they could have a not-so-bad chance of pulling it off.

The fact she had almost no power at the moment was something of a concern, as it would require Harry to pour much more energy from his side of the link to achieve the same result of a much smaller energy input from her side. After mulling it over for a few minutes, Hermione asked Harry to try and send her some raw energy, as she wanted to see if she could absorb it and use it from her side. The result of this attempt was not as good as they would have liked, but was better than nothing: he had to send more than she could store, so some was wasted, but at least this stream would not be in addition to whatever amount he would need to breach both sets of wards and to apparate quickly in and out of there with her.

* * *

While Hermione and Harry where still reviewing the course of action they intended to follow in the next few hours to try and free her from her captors, at the Order's headquarters the frantic chaos was leaving the place, replaced by a tense stillness.

Everybody could still feel Harry's anger radiating from the master bedroom, as well as the unusually strong charms he had locked himself in with, but they all thought it was due to his current mind state and did not concern themselves with it. After all, Harry could not escape from the confines of number 12, Grimmauld Place, and if all he did was brood, sulk and try to keep them out of his room, there was no problem in letting him be by himself to come to grips with the situation.

Just like that, nobody even considered the possibility of him coming up with a plan to rescue Hermione, let alone actually acting on it.  
This was actually the ideal situation for Harry's next move: the energy gathering required a lot of time and the process was slowed down by the fact both he and Hermione did not have a clear estimate of how much energy they would need: aside from the actual apparation round trip's energy cost simply not being known, they did not have enough experience in estimating the strength of a spell (or of wards, in this case) accurately.

They had attempted doing a "double job" on both sides, through the link, but the results had been mixed at best. After a few tries, they settled for using their best results, that is to say, the ones that appeared to be the most consistent, and doubled the amount of energy Harry would need to gather. This raised the risk for the Death Eaters to get around to do whatever Voldemort had planned for Hermione.

From a few fragments of conversation between the Dark Lord's followers that Hermione had heard when those passed near her cell, they knew that midnight was their deadline, and rumors of Voldemort's presence that evening set them both to work as fast as they could.

It still took Harry almost to the last minute to complete his task, even with the rather powerful incentive of wanting to save Hermione.

By that time, Hermione had been taken, none too gently, from her cell and bound to a stone table set in the middle of a makeshift throne room, no doubt to wait for Voldemort's effect entrance. It was so clichéd that Hermione found it in herself to snort at the thought.

That simple act brought her out of a daydream about what would happen to her next she had been in since she had been left alone earlier.

Hesitantly, she reopened her link to Harry 'Harry, are you ready? I know we will have only one shot at this, and I'd hate to rush you, but a couple of minutes ago I felt something change around here and I think the show is about to start any moment.'

She tried to sound calm, but Harry could easily detect her voice slipping into hysteria by the second. 'I'm ready to start. I'll be there as soon as I can.' Without adding anything else he began using the energy he had stored for what he would need to do.

First of all, he brought down his privacy charms, because they had decided to replace them with wards: they were not able to understand all the subtle nuances of the Black Family's ancestral home's wards, but the basic patterns were easy enough to decipher and try to replicate. Harry certainly did not know the spells used to create the wards, but he could directly shape his magic to assume those same patterns and set them around the room.

The Order members still at headquarters would feel the change immediately, but by then it would already be too late and nobody would be able to stop him.

The wards set, Harry started on his three "D"s to apparate near Hermione and immediately felt the house's own wards try to shunt his apparation. He simply took the hit, used more and more energy until the headquarters protection could not cope (at a lower limit than for anyone else due to him being the current master of the house) and proceeded directly to the next step.

The wards around the building where Hermione was kept reacted to his attempt the same way, but there were some variations: while they did not make his task easier by not having any special affinity with him, they were less complex than what could have been, so on the whole this second breaching required less energy than the first.

This was a very good thing, because it left Harry with a greater share of energy for the second half of the trip. A couple of seconds after dealing with the wards and with a deafening crack, Harry completed his apparation, and found himself standing with his wand already drawn next to the table Hermione was bound to; His surprise entrance took everyone in the throne room waiting for the night's entertainment totally unprepared.

By the time one of the Death Eaters cast the first spell directed at him, Harry had already freed Hermione's hands and feet and was already concentrating to regain the mental state needed for the double apparation out of there.

However, this time he needed to coordinate with Hermione: their link eased this step, but in their haste they poured every drop of power they had left. This had two effects: the first on them personally, as the moment they landed in the master bedroom at Grimmauld Place (and not in the alley beside the building as they had planned) they both collapsed into unconsciousness due to magical exhaustion.

The second effect was on the wards of the Death Eaters hideout: with all of that energy directed against them, they did not simply let the apparation happen, but unraveled completely, taking the other wards active at the site with them: the building was too old to stand on its own and, without the wards holding it together, began collapsing on the heads of the Death Eaters still present inside. When he arrived, Voldemort was positively furious about the house no longer standing.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Six

* * *

The entire rescue mission had lasted about five minutes, but the Order hadn't been sitting doing nothing through it: with the sudden apparition of the wards around Harry's bedroom and his subsequent disappearing from the house, Moody and Professor McGonagall had decided to enlist the help of professor Flitwick to try and understand some of what was happening. Unfortunately, even the presence of the charms master could not show any further light on what Harry was up to: Professor Flitwick could only confirm the presence of the new wards, but could do nothing about removing them: "These are neither the best nor the most complex wards he could have created, in fact they are formed around a very basic pattern; however, I cannot breach them, they simply are too powerful: I do not have enough strength to overcome them, although with the help of a few more people we could manage it. It would also be useless, you told me you all felt the backlash of Mr. Potter's powerful disapparation and it's not like he will be inside the room waiting for us, even if we manage to pass the wards", he said. Then, he simply sat on a chair in the drawing room and set out to wait for any new development.

When not two minutes later they felt another power wave from Harry returning, the Order released their collective breath, but any attempt to gain access to the master bedroom still failed, as the wards did not go down.

The wait resumed.

* * *

They had to wait for a day and a half: that much Harry and Hermione took to emerge from the master bedroom. The two of them actually did not do that as soon as they could have: in fact, they passed from total unconsciousness to being able to 'talk' via their mind link just a few hours after returning and could wake up completely by the following morning, but decided not to.

It was Harry, mainly: 'Hermione, you know there will be hell to pay the moment we step out of here' he "thought" to her.

'Yes, I know, but you could be rebuilding your energy back up much faster, if it weren't for you still maintaining the wards. Besides, I would like to go to my parents and reassure them I'm OK'.

Harry guiltily replied 'Well, what about I stop feeding power to the wards and we go out when they fail completely? In the mean time, we continue to talk and rest.'

'That's OK, I hope nobody has anything to say about me sleeping with you' she teased impishly.

'Hermione!' He spluttered, becoming red in the face instantly. With this simple reply he proved to still be too easy a target for her teasing and she relented, going back to sleep, snuggled close against his side.

The wards finally went down a full day later and, as predicted, there was a queue of people outside the door waiting to enter the moment it happened. Harry and Hermione had no control about who came in the bedroom, but had no intention of treating all the people there the same way.

During their rest, Harry had shared with Hermione the memory of the Order decision about not trying to rescue her after Hermione's abduction. She, too, could understand the reasoning behind it, but could not help being angry and disappointed at those who chose not to help her.

Their professors where better received and her parents where enveloped in a huge hug the moment they put their heads through the door; if they had any reservation about the two teenagers' sleeping arrangements for the night, they kept them to themselves: this boy had just saved Hermione from untold horrors with an obvious display of power and they were not going to be angry with their daughter for her clinging to him during their recovery. It seemed Hermione herself did not mind in the least, quite the opposite, actually. Their curiosity was increasing by the second, but it would have to be satisfied at another time.

None of the Weasleys were present and Harry still had not told Hermione about their answer to his plead for help. Luckily, what followed covered for the missing redheads: the discussion about what Harry had done and how he had done it went about as well as they had thought; the Order wanted to know exactly what had happened, but the two teens were less than forthcoming.

As they had decided, they told nothing to anyone about their mind link and Harry simply told the Order: "I went mad and apparated to Hermione's side and back here with her before I knew it. It was not a conscious effort, I just wanted her safe. I don't know how it happened, but I'm more than glad it did.'

Moody was less than happy about what he got: "Don't lie to me boy, we know you got wards up before you went to get the girl, that is not something that 'just happens'!"

"Well, too bad, because I won't tell you anything else. I don't have to answer you, you are not my guardian. You can choose to believe what you want but there is nothing you can do about it, especially not in my home!" Then he turned to Hermione, who had stayed silent at her parent's side up to that point "Hermione, I want you to spend some time with your parents, all of you need it. I know that Grimmauld Place is not the most fun of places, but it is all at your disposal. Remember that nobody here has the right to order you to do anything or to ask you any question. Also, if or when you need something, you can always ask me and I'll help you."

Hermione was a little unsure about it and asked "Are you sure Harry? I don't want to leave you alone right now."

"Don't worry Hermione, I'll be fine, we can always talk later" and with a look he communicated the hidden message: the mind link would always be available.

"OK, you are right, I do need to be with my parents and I'm sure they want to do the same. Harry... thank you. I owe you my life once again."

"Hermione, I will always try my best to keep you safe, but I will never keep count. Besides, how many times did you do the same for me?" Then, once again turning to the other people around he added: "Now, everybody else, listen to me, because I'll say it just once: we wish to be left alone. We will not talk again about what happened unless we decide to."

With that, Harry left the bedroom to go to the kitchen and get some breakfast. After a satisfying meal, he closed himself in the library.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Seven

* * *

Two days later, Harry had yet to spend any time outside of the library except for meals and to use the loo. He had, however, maintained a nearly constant contact with Hermione, since she sometimes needed a friend to get over what had happened; the side effect to this was that she had not been worried about Harry's unusual behavior. She was still curious, though.

He decided to tell her what he had been doing, since there was something he needed to tell her anyway, so they met in the library to discuss it as soon as they both could "So, tell me, what have you been up to the last couple of days? You have been killing me keeping it a secret." Nonsense was not something that described Hermione's way to deal with denied knowledge.

"Well, some of the things that happened in the last few days felt kind of funny when I had time to think them over and I needed to research something in the library before I said anything." Harry began lightly; then his tone became more worried "Before we talk about that, however, there is something you need to know and that I haven't told you yet."

"What is it, Harry?" He knew perfectly well that she didn't like being kept in the dark about anything, and especially about things that concerned her directly.

"Listen, Hermione, I know I should have told you the moment we came back, but this is something that could cost me our friendship and I was not very keen on risking that. If you add that the subject is something I would normally never talk about because it's not really my business, and my ability, or lack of it, with putting complex thoughts into words, you get a pretty good idea why I tried to stall."

"If it's none of you business, why talk about it at all, Harry?" Hermione's skeptical opinion on the matter sounded loud and clear in Harry's hears "What made you change your mind?"

"It became my business because it would affect you, and as you are my best friend, I felt compelled to talk to you about something that could hurt you. Anyway, I decided that keeping you from being intentionally hurt was worth the risk. Please, trust me just one more time, Hermione."

"I have no problem with trusting you, Harry, but I reserve the right to decide if it was right for you to say anything. Prepare yourself for a harsh tongue leashing otherwise. Now, out with it, I'm waiting." replied Hermione in a crisp tone.

"I think it would be better if I show you; this way we solve the problems with my eloquence and with any interpretation of what really happened I may give you. Come look into my mind, Hermione."

She did just that and he shared the memory of his argument with the Weasleys, starting with the Order decision about not coming to her rescue.

'Harry, you already showed me this...'

'I know Hermione, but bear with me'; When the redheads appeared before her mind's eye she quieted and forgot everything about his rude interruption, her attention captured by the memory.

The moment the memory ended she broke the mind link, turned away with an unreadable expression on her face and remained completely still and silent for some time.

Finally, after what appeared to Harry like a year, she looked back at Harry and asked: "Harry, please don't take this the wrong way, but I just have to ask it; did you alter in any way what you just showed me?"

"No, Hermione, you know I would never do something like that to you. As you saw, there were other people present, you can ask them for confirmation."

"No, you word is enough for me. Please forgive me, but this is a hard truth to accept."

"Do you understand then why I was so reluctant to tell you? And there is nothing to forgive, it was your right to ask."

"Yes, I see your dilemma. Kind of what I did in third year with your Firebolt, eh? You value our friendship, but to you my happiness is worth even more and you took the risk for my sake. I feel honored you have such a high opinion of me. Whatever did I do to earn your loyalty?"

"You did the same thing for me for almost six years, it was high time I started showing you the loyalty we share goes both ways."

She felt elated that her efforts during that time had been for something, but now was not the time to dwell on it: even with the revelation she just had, Harry still had something else to talk about. She would think things over later. "OK, now that the last secret is out of the way, I think it's time to talk about what you were doing the last couple of days."

"Right. Since the moment we got back I did a lot of thinking: some things other people had done or said in the last few years had a strange feeling in my head and, when taken as a whole, my responses were not what I think they should have been. You know I'm able to forgive a lot, but I have limits like everybody else. Even then, with some people I've been systematically forgiving anything and everything, while with others I haven't let the slightest of things slide."

"Are we talking about people we both know, Harry?" Hermione asked knowingly.

"I will not mince words with you Hermione: I'm talking about Ron, Ginny and Dumbledore for the first group and... well, about you for the second. But it's not just that: I noticed that I'm always ready to accept those people's ideas at face value while I think about yours a lot before accepting them and even then, end up rejecting the majority anyway, and it doesn't make any sense: it's you I trust implicitly, not them... and yet it's you I question the most." Harry's look was lost in thought as he tried to describe what was troubling him.

"It got me thinking, as it was too constant, too repetitive: I went into the library to search for something that could have an effect like this. I did find some books on memory manipulation, but it's not the same. Instead, I found a book about spell detection written by Sirius' great-grandfather, Phineas Black, and that had been really helpful."

Hermione was really curious about this apparent non-sequitur "Why should that book help you?"

"Apparently, spell detection was a big hobby of Phineas: maybe he was just paranoid, with the way the Black family worked, I can't say I blame him. Besides that book, he created various devices that could monitor, reveal or detect spells of different kinds, some of them even from a remote location. Reminds you of something?" He asked, already knowing she had immediately understood the hint.

"The silver devices in Dumbledore's office." As expected, her reply was not a question.

"Yes. Almost all of Phineas devices are on permanent loan to Hogwarts, as it was there he created them anyway, during his tenure as Headmaster: probably the only place he could do so without interference from his relatives. However, one of them is here, because it has a few disadvantages over the others."

"Disadvantages? Why is it important then, if it does not work as well?"

"I didn't say it doesn't work. For starters, it's not easily portable, it cannot work remotely and needs direct contact with the subject the user is trying to analyze. On the other hand, it is a generic detector, while the others work with just one kind of spells each."

"I see. The detector is not important per se, but it can give you all the information you need. Whoever thinks you are stupid is sorely mistaken, Harry. Have you already tried to do a scan?"

"No, because, as the subject, I can't operate the device."

"And this is where I come in to help you, right? Of course I will help you; lead the way, I'm always ready for some research." she said with a grin lighting her face.

"It's behind a hidden passage, the book gives all the instructions needed to get to it, let's go."

The two easily found the passage behind a bookcase and, after a few quick cleaning charms, entered the room the device was kept in.

Following the instructions in the book, Harry went into the center of a platform the detector was arranged around, while Hermione got ready to perform the activation spell.

"Incanto Revealo!" She intoned and immediately various parts of the device began glowing. The procedure continued on its own for about ten minutes, then a ghost-like image of Harry appeared beside him, glowing different colors in the general areas of his chest and head.

With a second command spell, Hermione started the analysis phase; each of the glowing spots in Harry's ghost image separated from each others, giving an exploded view of the overlapping spells; beside each section a brief text appeared to explain what the spell was and what its effects where.

As Hermione started absorbing the information, the expression on her face cycled freely between anger, incredulity, betrayal and sadness.

Finally, Harry could wait no more and asked: "How bad is it, Hermione? I can see from your face that I will not like it."

"None of this is life threatening, thankfully, but the main problem is something else: it's the personal implications that are difficult to accept."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, aside from your scar, whose results I do not understand, you basically have been subjected to charms that have altered your normal responses to the behavior of specific people: increased loyalty towards Ron and Dumbledore, decreased propension to question them, a boosting of any affection you could feel for Ginny and about the reverse of all of that towards me. Some of these charms are quite old and would explain what you observed quite easily. There are also some charms directly affecting your magic core: a generic block preventing you from accessing more than a tenth of your whole power is the oldest charm of the lot, aside from a siphon directly linked to your scar that leaks about half of your remaining energy, but there are also three others linked to Dumbledore, Ron and Ginny. It all combines to leave you about two percent of what you should have at your disposal. You have been used as an energy source for almost your entire life, Harry!"

Harry was stunned by her report; he had prepared himself for bad news, but not for something like this. "But, but... I'm able to do magic at a normal level, even higher than most people in some cases. How is that possible? Shouldn't I be a squib with all of that energy being sapped away from me?"

"Well, the obvious answer to that is that you are really a lot more powerful than almost anybody else thinks, fortunately. Otherwise you would be a squib, there is no question about that. As for the rest, you also have performed some tricks in the past and just two days ago that require massive amounts of energy... I can only imagine that the blocks are not perfect and cannot hold you back when you really want something to happen, and in that moment you have access to all of your power, thus allowing you to do what nobody else can. I'm however baffled as to why the two youngest Weasleys have a need to leech energy from you: they are about average, power-wise, and their family tree is virtually devoid of squibs... maybe our beloved Headmaster thought they would need more power to cope with what would happen around you during your years at Hogwarts."

"I think you are right on all counts, as usual. I suppose the operative question now should be how to remove all of these charms. What do you think?"

"Unfortunately, the charms are highly advanced... we could need to enlist someone else to help us. I know you don't want to, or we wouldn't be doing this so secretly, but I don't think we have a choice. What do you think about Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, Remus and... Bill Weasley?"

"As strange as it may sound, I have no problems with Bill, Ron's brother or not. But with his wedding so near, I don't know if it would be right to have him involved, it wouldn't be fair. I trust Remus, but if I can help it, he will have all the time in the world to relax and pursue other... goals, maybe with the help of a certain usually-pink-haired auror: he didn't exactly have an easy life and I don't want to add to his burden; if we absolutely need his help we will tell him, but not before. About Madam Pomfrey, I may try to escape her loving care as soon as I can every time I find myself in her hospital, but I trust her. Professor McGonagall is no doubt the most loyal person in the Order right now, there is no questioning her, especially now that Dumbledore is not here anymore. With what the scan showed us, I wouldn't have trusted him to do what was best for me."

Hermione was pleased with his answer and started to think of how to ask her two professors for their help "Good. I agree with you. We can contact professor McGonagall through the floo in a few minutes and ask her to come here with Madam Pomfrey when they both can."

"Hermione?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Yes, what is it, Harry?" she replied distractedly.

"Hmm, I don't have a definite reason for this, it's just a suspicion, but... would you mind if we did a scan of you too? You know, with you being my best and closest friend..."

"Don't worry, Harry. I understand what you are trying to say and it's actually a good idea. I hope to get a negative result, though."

"You and me both. Shall we?"

"OK."

After switching their places at the detector, they repeated the scan and the analysis; unfortunately for their hopes, her results were virtually identical to his.

"Ehm, Hermione, I'm sorry do dash your hopes, but I think you will like this about as much as I did, if not less. The only differences with my results are a switching of roles for Ron and Ginny and a power handling limitation placed on your magical core instead of a full block. I think this is why you could not store all the energy I sent you when you where prisoner at the Death Eaters' hideout. Why it's here is another matter, I have no clue about a possible reason."

Hermione's face fell the moment Harry opened his mouth, she just knew he would have bad news for her; however now was not the time to dwell in self pity, so she shrugged it off and replied: "Neither do i, but this only increases the urgency to talk to Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey."

"You are right, let's hope they can come here soon."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling f

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Eight

* * *

The floo call Professor McGonagall had received an hour earlier from two of her favorite students had been quite vague about their reasons to ask her and Madam Pomfrey to come to headquarters as soon as possible, but the urgency had been clear enough for her to decide to go there the same day.

When the two Hogwarts staff members arrived at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Harry and Hermione ushered them immediately to the library and into the detector room without a single word.

Once inside, they asked the adults to wait for them to share what they wanted to discuss, then redid the scan on Harry.

Having an idea about what the detector was, but not why the two teens were using it on themselves, and, more importantly, what results they had got that their presence was required, the two professors waited patiently for the operation to complete and have a look for themselves.

What they saw left them speechless for at least five minutes and it was Hermione's first question that brought them out of their stupor "We can assure you that my scan shows very similar results, with only a couple of minor differences. We would like to know your thoughts on this and if you have any idea on how to remove all of these charms."

With the main problem being about the two students safety and well being, Madam Pomfrey took charge and answered: "Well, almost all of the charms affecting Harry are quite advanced, but breaking them is not difficult. The exception is the scar and its link to his core, I do not know what it is or how it has been created." Professor McGonagall's face showed a brief flash of her having more knowledge that her colleague on the matter, but it was gone before the others could notice it; Madam Pomfrey continued "I recommend causing the power block seal to fade over a period of time, say about two weeks, instead of removing it suddenly: this would let Harry learn how to control his core gradually, removing the potential for uncontrolled bursts of his magic. With the energy we are talking about, that could be a disaster. If Miss Granger's results are similar, there should be no differences in how to proceed with her too. I could start even now, if you want."

"Yes, please. And, if you don't mind, do Harry first: the sooner he is free from those spells, the better for everyone." Hermione immediately replied.

It would not have made any difference in which order the expert nurse went to work on them, as it only took five minutes each for her to remove almost all the charms, the ones tied to Harry's scar being the exception. At the end of the procedure neither Harry nor Hermione felt any different, but they knew that from that moment on they would be themselves and think with their own heads without external influences.

The medical part taken care of, it was McGonagall's turn to handle the other aspects of the situation, namely the involvement of the two youngest Weasleys children. However, it was clear they could not have cast those complex charms on Harry and Hermione, because they did not have the necessary knowledge on how to do it, so, without a clear proof that they knew of the spells altering Harry's and Hermione's behavior and that they willingly took part in the plan whoever had cast those had orchestrated, the Acting Headmistress could do nothing about them. The onus of the proof ironically was still on Harry and Hermione and they decided to wait and keep an eye on the two redheads for any hint that could give them away.

Seeing that the current business was coming to an end, the four set to leave the room and the library, but Professor McGonagall tried to stop Harry: "Harry, I would like to talk with you for a few moments; in private."

Harry's opinion on her request was not the same "Professor McGonagall, since you made this request, what you need to tell me must both be important and concerning me alone. However, from this moment on, I will not have any secrets for Hermione and I trust Madam Pomfrey with my life. Please, whatever you have to say, there is no reason to keep them in the dark. I will admit that there is still the matter of me keeping my activities with Professor Dumbledore before he was killed a secret, but that will be the only thing for the foreseeable time."

"Very well. When Madam Pomfrey got to talk about your scar and how she did not know anything about it, I thought that somewhere, sometime, I had seen something like it, even if not exactly the same. It's the detector that made me remember, because it was during one of the times I assisted to Headmaster Phineas do one of his scan on a piece of ancient jewelry that I first saw a... horcrux. Even if this time the scan has been done on a living being, it seems to me, and I hope my memory is not betraying me here, that the readings were almost the same."

Before she could stop herself, Hermione shouted "What! Harry's scar is another horcrux?" Immediately realizing her blunder, she fell silent, but it was already too late.

Professor McGonagall turned her full attention to Hermione and was surprised that her student knew what a horcrux was 'Or maybe I shouldn't. We are talking about Hermione Granger after all!' "You know what a horcrux is! And what do you mean 'another'?"

Hermione looked around searching for Harry and after locking eyes with him asked mentally 'Oh, Harry, I spoke too much! What could we do now?"

Harry didn't seem angry or concerned about this new problem, at least not as much as she thought he would be 'Hermione, as I said before, it's time to stop having secrets. It's sooner than I would have preferred, but don't worry, they will understand.' Then, using his normal voice, he answered his professor "Yes, we know what a horcrux is; very well, I might add. It's connected with what I've been doing with Dumbledore: you see, we discovered that Voldemort knows the concept of the horcrux, has known since he was in Hogwarts actually, and it is our first concern right now before we can even think of taking the battle to him."

Professor McGonagall was stunned about what she had just heard and Madam Pomfrey was not far behind. Neither had ever suspected the use of a magic so dark by their enemy but, for the Headmistress at least, helped put in the right context some of the things that had happened that year. Something was not right, however: 'Hermione said 'another' and this does not make any sense when talking about an horcrux, unless...' "Voldemort created more than one horcrux, right? How many?"

"Before today, we thought, and Dumbledore agreed when he was alive, that Voldemort had created seven horcruxes, but now it seems he made an eight in Harry by accident. It's a big problem, because the only thing that can be done about those damned pieces of soul is destroying the physical object containing it and that is out of the question for Harry!" Hermione's answer ended almost in a shout, and nobody had a problem understanding why; losing Harry Potter was not an option.

"Seven! Eight! How can that be possible? Aside from the fact you need a murder for every split, with that number there should be no soul left to speak of!" Professor McGonagall was still trying to come to grips with the situation and her point of view was skewed as a result.

Harry's answer to that was to snort and say "Well, I think that 'soulless' describes Voldemort rather well, doesn't it? But seriously, this puts a crimp in our plans. Before Hermione's abduction, the two of us plus Ron were preparing to go on a mission to search for the remaining horcruxes, but now we need to get rid of the one in my scar first. Without killing me in the process, hopefully, thank you very much. And the whole idea of including Ron must be discarded, I'll never be able to trust him again."

"Why did you tell him about the horcruxes? He hadn't been exactly the best of friends towards you lately." McGonagall thought that disclosing such an important information to the redhead was not a wise decision.

"Well, it was Dumbledore's idea that I tell only to Hermione and Ron. I think I did not object because those damned charms overrode what my guts were telling me. We really have to hope he does not open that big mouth of his."

During the next few minutes, the two teens filled Professor McGonagall in about what they knew of Voldemort's horcruxes and which had already been destroyed by either Harry of Professor Dumbledore. Madam Pomfrey had been silent through all of it, in deep thought about the data the detector had supplied about Harry's scar. She was sure some of that could help him, but she needed one more crucial piece of information, so she asked "Excuse me, but what is keeping the fragment of soul alive in the containing object, normally?"

"Part of the horcrux creation spell ties the soul to the object and to the Earth to provide a channel to feed energy to it. We don't know how much time the horcrux can 'survive', but we are sure it's for at least a few hundred years. Why such a specific question? Do you know something that could be helpful?" Hermione asked.

"It's just that the analysis of Mr. Potter's scar showed it is absorbing the energy from him directly. I wonder if maybe it is being used to keep the fragment of soul alive instead of using a channel to the Earth like the others. You said it was created unintentionally, so maybe this part of the spell was not ready and got replaced by the first energy source available. If that is so, Mr. Potter is lucky to have so much energy at his disposal, anyone else would have been killed rather quickly." Madam Pomfrey of course looked at things from a medical point of view and had added a very important piece of information without knowing it.

Upon hearing her explanation, Hermione entered in full research mode: "Is there a way to be sure the energy is used by the horcrux to keep it alive? It would give us an easy way to destroy it without harming Harry: we would just need to cut the link to Harry's core and the Horcrux would die on its own!"

"Well, if the energy isn't being used for that, it would mean Voldemort has been getting a free power boost for all of these years, which is almost as bad as the horcrux surviving. I say we shut it down in any case, it's a big loss any way you look at it." Harry was of course in favor of getting rid of his unwanted 'guest' as soon as possible, while Hermione was already thinking ahead: "Madam Pomfrey, if we interrupt the main connection between the horcrux and Harry's core, we have to make sure it cannot do the trick again with a secondary feed. Is it possible?"

"Yes it is, but it will require some fancy shields around Harry's core, but can be done. Not right now, however, because I would like to do it in a place where all of my tools are available: the hospital wing at Hogwarts would be our best choice, otherwise I'd say St. Mungo's. And maybe we will need the detector there too. I also need to research the proper way of doing such an unusual procedure and I will not be ready for at least a week or two: we can set a date later and we will have to sneak you out of here and to Hogwarts without the Order knowing it."

Harry answered confidently "The trip to the school should not be a problem: I already showed I can go through about any wards I want."

"Harry, Hogwarts' wards are immensely more powerful than what you met either here or at the Death Eaters' hideout, it would be dangerous!"

"Well, what about Honeydukes' then? As far as I know, the tunnel from their basement to the school is known to very few people."

"It seems a good idea, but I would like to be included in that small group of people in the know: since when there has been a tunnel connecting Hogwarts to one of the shops in Hogsmeade?" Professor McGonagall was more than a little peeved about that fact.

"Oh, we don't know for sure, but since my father and his friends knew of it, I would say it has been there a long time. It's not the only one either." Harry answered sheepishly, then he continued "Hermione and I will be more than happy to help you get to know your new domain better, but for now we have other problems. If we are finished here, we can let you go, I'm sure you have other places you need to be." His was a subtle hint that the two professors could not be missing from the school for too long or they risked drawing other people's attention to what they had been doing and with who. Even if between the four people in the library there was an agreement about not having secrets with each other, it didn't mean everyone else was entitled to the same, they still needed to keep things under silence.

As quietly and as fast as they could, the four made their way back to where they were supposed to be and resumed their normal activities, waiting for any other event to, hopefully, clarify the situation.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Nine

* * *

The following week saw the return of Ron and Ginny, along with their mother, to Grimmauld Place and with it, the dreaded confrontation that Hermione knew she had to have with her supposed 'boyfriend'. She was not looking forward to it because it was sure to be a big row and things could get ugly fast.  
She managed to avoid Ron and the talk for another day with the simple expedient of shutting herself in the library, which she needed to use anyway for their research on the possible locations of the other horcruxes, but there would always be times she had to share with the other guests of the house: the meals in the kitchen, for example.

Ron waited until after the dinner of the second day since his arrival to approach Hermione. When she stood up from the table to head for her room he followed and stopped her just outside the kitchen door. "Hermione, wait. I would like to talk with you about something. Can we go somewhere private?" She could not say she was surprised by his request, but she was nervous nonetheless.

"OK, I was going to my room, we can talk there." Mentally, however, she reached out to Harry and 'said': 'Harry, I'm going to have a chat with Ron. He asked for privacy, but I want you to listen in through the link. I wish for you to be able to come fast if this gets as bad as I think it will.'

'Are you sure, Hermione? As much I want to keep you from harm, this is still a private matter between you and Ron.' She could tell his answer was just for the sake of having her confirmation, which she gave without problems

'Yes, Harry, I'm sure. You are wrong that this is something between just me and Ron, you made it your business too when you decided to risk our friendship to keep me from being hurt. You cannot get out of it now. Besides, didn't you tell McGonagall just last week it was time to stop having secrets? I did not say anything at the time, but I agree completely and this is where I start with making it into fact.'

'OK, I'll be near in case you need any help. I will also keep an eye on Ginny, she was too interested in your conversation with Ron just now, almost as if it was something they both wanted to happen. Good luck and I'll see you later.'

By the time the mental conversation with Harry was over, Ron and Hermione had reached her room; "Come in then, and we can talk."

She closed the door behind her, then turned to face the redhead "OK, what did you want to talk about, Ron?"

"Well, nothing specifically, I just thought it has been a long time since we were together alone and wanted to see you after what happened last week. You are my girlfriend and I care about you." Ron stated as smoothly as he could.

"You have a funny way of showing your care! It has been almost two weeks and only now you think about me needing someone to comfort me! Do I have to remind you that Harry has been here constantly all this time doing exactly that just because he is my friend? And that is beside being the one to actually save me alone and when nobody else would, not even you? Some boyfriend you are."

"Hey, this isn't about Harry, it's about the two of us. I'm here now, am I not? It must count for something! I was busy at the Burrow."

"I can understand you having to help with Bill and Fleur's wedding, but you could have owled or flooed. It would have taken at most five minutes of your precious time, but I'm sure you didn't even think of doing that!"

"Er, no, I didn't."

"I thought you wouldn't. It would seem that your idea of us spending time alone is not one of your best. But I suppose some good could be coming from this conversation. Care to explain why you refused to help Harry rescuing me?"

Ron began getting worried about where she was taking the discussion "I'm sorry, but I thought any attempt without the support of the Order would have been doomed to fail... you are important to me, but the odds where so high I had to remember my first concern should be to stay alive until the end of the war, I'm no hero and have no wish to participate in suicide missions."

Hermione decided that baiting Ron was too easy and smirked inwardly. 'Now to catch the fish; come on Ron, hook, sink and line!' Outside, her expression was stern "Ah, so now that I'm back, unharmed and with no risk to your safety I'm on again? And with the bonus of me not having been 'tainted' by the Death Eaters, right?"

Ron got angry hearing her hitting that close to home "Who told you those things? Harry? I'll have you know that it's all a lie!"

"You can stop wasting time and breath trying to deny it right now. Yes, Harry showed me the memory of when you gave your most impressive speech about what you wanted from me. I also confirmed it thanks to the memories of some of the other people present at the time. I think this charade has gone on long enough, Ron. It's time for me to cut my losses: we are over and nothing will change it." Her tone of finality was unmistakable, even for Ron. He still tried to rally back.

"Harry had no right to tell you about our little chat, he should have kept his mouth shut! No matter, because what you just said means nothing: we are not over until I say so, you do not have a choice in the matter. Now come here and greet me as a properly girlfriend should... and maybe it's also time to go to the next step."

He advanced menacingly on her, his eyes shining with an unholy light she had never seen before. It was frightening to say the least to think someone that had been so close to her for six years could be so different from the 'mask' he used every day.

'Harry, Ron is going to hurt me! I think I can handle him, but please, I want you nearby in case I need your help.' She sent to Harry via the mind link.

'I'm already outside of your door. Just say, or think, the word and he will be flying out of the window without his broom!'

'Thank you, but for now, let's see if he likes this...' aloud she began again "So, Ron, you are showing your true self now? You'll find I'm not so easy to overpower: hanging for six year around Harry has the advantage that you get to know a lot about fighting and you are not exactly a Death Eater; if I can handle one of them, I certainly can handle you" She taunted.

Of course, it had the effect of making Ron see red and in that state it was almost too easy for Hermione to make him trip and fall flat on the floor. Ron was quite a lot stronger than the average girl, but as they say, power is nothing without control, and anger always made control a mere wish for any of the Weasleys. Ron proved this when, after standing up from where he had fallen, he tried the same move again, with the same result. Stubbornness was also in his genes and Hermione had to repeat her trick twice more before he got the hint that his strategy to get the girl was not working as it should.

The red handprint she had added the last time might have helped too.

Hermione was getting increasingly annoyed and it showed in her next sentence.

"I think it's time for you to leave, Weasley. You are no longer welcome in my room. I would like to say in this house, but it's not mine, so I'll have to ask Harry's opinion on that."

She opened and held the door for him to exit.

Ron meekly did as she wanted. Just outside of the room he spotted Harry standing near the door as if he had been standing guard all along. The two glared at each other, but said nothing. The moment Ron was out of sight, Hermione went to Harry and hugged him to draw some measure of comfort from the only true friend she still had.

"Are you all right Hermione? I know you said you could handle him, but I worried all the same."

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just... I can't believe he lied to me for all of this time!"

"He lied to us both, Hermione. I think Ron was going to Ginny's room: some sort of post-mission debriefing, I would guess. Maybe we could listen in to see what they think about what just happened. I happen to still have one of those extendable ears..."

"Harry, you are a real marauder, do you know that?"

"Why, thank you, I'm doing my best to earn that title. Shall we?"

She nodded and in a few seconds the two were outside Ginny's room trying to eavesdrop on the siblings' conversation.

"... so she said it was over? It shouldn't be possible!" From her surprise, Ginny was not pleased with what her brother had just told her.

"Yes, and it's all Potter's fault. He should have said nothing to Hermione about our plans." Ron was still upset and had not understood Ginny's point.

The girl rolled her eyes and brusquely said "Did you really think Harry would have kept that secret from her? Not even those charms could prevent him from telling her, I don't know why, but his loyalty towards her just can't be broken; if you recall, even Dumbledore was puzzled by that and if he could do nothing about it, it's safe to assume nobody else could. But that's beside the point. What I mean is that Hermione should not have been able to think about breaking up with you, let alone go through with it, the spells Dumbledore cast on her to boost her feelings for you should have prevented it!"

"Yes, I know... Do you think with the Headmaster dead those charms could have failed?"

"I don't know. It is a magic too advanced for us and the old man was not into explaining every single detail of it. I think from now on we have to assume the charms on both Harry and Hermione have failed, whatever the reason. It could be a disaster, neither of us would get what we want. We cannot replace the spells, so I think we should employ other methods. I'll have to get Mum to give me her potions book; after all, it's almost the same thing as the charms."

"Right. Can you brew all the necessary potions?"

"Yes, of course. I will need to start with..."

'I think we heard enough, Hermione.' Harry 'said' and stood from his place against the door, helping her up in the same movement. 'We should go back to your room before they catch us, come on.'

A flight of stairs later they were again in Hermione's room "Now we know for sure they were involved in the plan; maybe not from the beginning, as you said some of the charms on me were quite old, but they were still willing parties to it, we even got confirmation that it was Dumbledore that set the charms on us. I think it should be proof enough for Professor McGonagall to take some action against our ex-friends."

"I agree. She should have no problem handling them. I hope our little potions mistress will be finished in her brewing career before long!"

"Me too. Let's not dwell on those two for now, it has been a long day and I know we are both tired. We should get some sleep and we will see each other tomorrow. Have a good night, Hermione, and if you need anything, remember I'm always here for you."

"Harry, wait... i, uh, would like to ask you something" It was the first time in many days that Harry had heard her voice so unsure.

"What's the problem Hermione?" Concern immediately tinged Harry's voice.

"Well, nothing serious, but... I don't feel like sleeping alone tonight. And I rather enjoyed our resting session last time. Do you think we could...?"

"You already know my answer, Hermione: if it's OK with you, and with your parents, I have no problem with your request."

She blushed heavily, but did not turn her head away. "You don't have to worry about my parents: if you remember, they said nothing the other day when you finally let the wards collapse and they entered into your room. Let's go to sleep, I really am tired; good night Harry." After settling in her bed, the two of them relaxed and fell asleep in just a few minutes.

Even with the worries they currently had, that night they slept soundly without interruptions; Unbeknown to them, a golden glow shone briefly around their cuddling forms just after they entered the land of dreams.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Ten

* * *

"Nervous?" Hermione asked.

"Actually, yes. Too much is tied to this damn scar and I can't help but think about what will happen." Harry answered. "Don't worry, I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will fix it up in a matter of seconds, she always does."

Harry and Hermione were waiting in his room for the time to sneak out of the house and head to Hogwarts for their scheduled meeting with Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey.

Following the plan they had prepared with McGonagall, they began the preparations to apparate directly to Honeydukes' basement in Hogsmeade. The problems they had to overcome where the same of when Harry went on his mission to rescue Hermione, but there were some differences. Firstly, the trip out would have both of them, but on the other hand at the arrival point there were no wards.

They also decided not to place either privacy charms or wards around Harry's bedroom, in essence gambling that nobody would be the wiser about the two teens spending some time holed up in a room.

This was facilitated by the fact that the few Order members present at the moment at headquarters were not so familiar with the kids and would not notice their absence based on their specific magic patterns being missing.

It had been some time since the block on his core had begun fading, so Harry had very little problem gathering the energy they needed for the trip, even finishing a lot faster than they thought.

Without any specific preparation, Harry side-along apparated Hermione to Hogsmeade, simply pouring enough energy to overcome the house's wards. In a few seconds they stood in the candy shop's basement, directly over the trap door leading to the hidden tunnel to Hogwarts.

Harry's instructions had been to wait for them at the one-eyed witch statue on seventh floor at the appointed time and Minerva decided she would really need to have a talk with the pair when all of this chaos had settled down. She really didn't like the thought of having not one, but a few side entrances to her school, ones that she could not monitor because she actually did not know they existed. It would have to wait, though, because at the moment that security breach in the castle's defenses allowed them the freedom to carry their plan forward, where otherwise it would be next to impossible for the teacher to have this meeting with the two students.

Right on time the statue opened and Harry and Hermione landed before the Headmistress. The trio wasted no time in returning to her office, where they could talk a bit before heading for the hospital wing.

"So, how are you doing at headquarters? I heard you had a confrontation with Mr. Weasley." McGonagall asked after she reached the seat behind her desk and the two students sat themselves in the chairs in front of it.

"Yes, a few days ago they stopped at Grimmauld Place and Ron asked Hermione for a chat. I think it's safe to say she cleared the air with him. We got the impression it was a staged encounter, because their visit was too sudden. Besides, Ginny was behaving like she wanted to know the result of Ron and Hermione's discussion. We now know we were right, because we followed Ron after he left Hermione's room and listened in on his report to Ginny." Harry was keeping his word about not having secrets with the people he trusted, but up until now, Professor McGonagall had gotten nothing useful from this tale.

So she asked "Mr. Potter, I understand you both have issues with the Weasleys' children right now, but I think we have more important topics to discuss."

"You are right, professor, but I thought you wanted to know what they said about the charms that were affecting us."

"Well, if you two managed to get proof of their willing participation in whatever scheme had you under those spells, of course I want to know. Please continue."

"Yes, we did. The short of it is that they knew about the charms active on us and pretty much confirmed it was Dumbledore that cast them. But also, they decided to consider all the behavior-adjusting charms as non-operating from now on, due to to how I reacted to Ron during our talk. However, they also decided to hold on their control over us at all costs and have already chosen the method they would use to go back to the old status quo, namely potions, and Ginny had already begun preparing the necessary ingredients and deciding what to brew first." As Hermione dropped the bombshells, Professor McGonagall face turned sour.

"I do not understand how those two could have been placed in Gryffindor, nobody can change that much at that age and the hat would have picked up any selfish or self-serving tendencies easily."

"That is assuming nobody tampered with their sorting: call me paranoid if you want, but I won't put it past Dumbledore to do something of that sort to get what he wanted. After all, I think the final goal of this whole plan of his, because there is no denying now he was behind hit, was to have better control of me: the Weasleys are a lot easier to influence than I am and without Hermione at my side I would lack both my best friend and adviser, leaving him as the only one to provide 'directions' on how to go about the Voldemort problem. I bet him dying really put a crimp in all that." Harry finished wryly.

McGonagall paused for a few seconds mulling over what Harry just said. "It's a big accusation you are laying at the feet of Headmaster Dumbledore, but I have to agree with you, Mr. Potter. I'm also a little surprised about such a well-thought analysis, please don't take it the wrong way, but it's not something I'm used to expecting from you. I'm beginning to wonder if those charms didn't affect your reasoning capabilities beside having their intended effects."

Harry smirked and turned to Hermione "I'd rather say that Hermione has been rubbing off on me... but your reasoning works too. I quite frankly need all the abilities I have to survive the war and if removing the charms helped in that area too, I won't complain. I'm sure Hermione would like someone capable of challenging her from time to time in something other that Defense."

Said girl was more than pleased with this line of thought, but only said: "Dream on, Harry. Dream on."

"OK, let's go back to the problem at hand, shall we? I'm glad you were able to shine some light on the matter, but even with this proof, I still can't do anything to Mr. and Ms. Weasleys, I'm afraid. Even having knowledge of the charms and exploiting them for their gain, they did nothing illegal because the spells were cast by professor Dumbledore, not by them. Unfortunately, something similar could be said about their intended course of action: dosing someone with potions, especially love and loyalty ones, without their consent certainly is a crime, and a big one at that, but if the act hasn't been committed yet, we cannot charge them, put them on trial and condemn them for 'unlawful thinking'." It seemed in this case she wanted nothing more than do exactly that, however a stickler for rules the headmistress was.

"Great, just great: we have to wait for them to drug us to have any proof of it before we can be free of them. The way my luck runs, Ginny will also try and use a dose large enough to kill a horse just to be sure of the effect."

A short-lived smile touched the professor mouth, then she continued "I'm afraid so. There is also the not-so-insignificant detail that I have no jurisdiction outside of Hogwarts and would be able to help you only if their attempt was made inside the grounds."

"Well, that at least is not a surprise and a welcome change from the previous Headmaster's way of thinking. He had the titles to back it up, but it was still annoying. No offense intended, Professor McGonagall."

"None taken, Mr. Potter, I can see why you would feel that way. Now that that is out of the way, we can join Madam Pomfrey for what you came here to do. I have to warn you that I've never seen her so focused on a problem like this time; I think she found a solution, but it seems she had encountered some difficulties. She hasn't told me anything yet, but if her face is any indication, the treatment, for lack of a better word, of your scar will not be as easy as we hoped, I'm afraid."

The three of them entered the Hospital Wing just a few minutes later and Professor McGonagall went in search of the nurse to inform her Harry and Hermione were there.

Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and greeted them; even if she tried to hide it, her worry about the situation was readily evident. Hermione did not waste any time before she asked what the problem was.

Madam Pomfrey answered: "Well, Ms. Granger, as I said when we last met, we need some pretty good shields around Mr. Potter's core if we want to prevent the horcrux to tap into it with another connection while we severe the existing one. The problem is due to the relative energies that will be battling for control at the moment of the procedure; quite simply, Mr. Potter is too powerful for me to be able to cast a successful shield and hold it until needed, the horcrux itself is too. I actually will have no problem with the breaking of the connection itself, but the only way to do the entire procedure right is for someone to help me with the shield." It was apparent that she didn't like this solution, but had no other to present them.

Professor McGonagall had no compunctions about volunteering for the job "You know you can count on me, Poppy."

"Thank you Minerva, but from my estimates, you would have the same problem as me because our respective cores generate about the same amount of energy. I'm sorry, but it can't be you: I'm afraid we will need someone else."

Harry and Hermione exchanged a quick look before turning once again to the adults.

"Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, maybe there is a way to do it without the need to have someone else helping us."

"What do you mean, Ms. Granger?"

"You see, we haven't been completely honest about our secrets with you: there is still a big one we have kept to ourselves, because we felt it was too private a matter to talk about with other people, even the two of you. It seems we have no choice right now, though."

"Another secret? What is it this time?"

"It's something we discovered last year; we found that there is some sort of connection between the two of us and, in time, we have learned to use it to share a lot of things." Hermione started her explanation.

"Why do I get the impression this is a part of what Mr. Potter used to locate your prison and to get to you? Is this what you didn't want to tell the Order?"

"Yes, it is, and your impression is correct. I was able to expand on one of the things we can do with the link and get a bearing on her; the rest was just a matter of the amount of power needed to do things: exactly the same problem we have here, it would seem." Harry was looking directly into McGonagall's eyes as he said this, challenging her to say anything about them keeping this a secret.

She didn't comment, and instead said "I do not understand how it could help us. Could you please explain."

Hermione took over this part, seeing as she had an easier way with words "As Harry said, we can share many thing over the link with each other. That includes thoughts, memories, emotions, we can 'borrow' each other senses to augment our own, we can have an idea about the direction and distance the other is with respect to ourselves and... we can send raw power to the other, or at least Harry can: we haven't tried with me sending, because quite frankly my core's output is nowhere near Harry's." She let a moment or two pass before she continued "What we were thinking is a repeat of something we already did last time: I needed energy to help Harry with his apparation, but I did not have enough. So, on a whim, I asked him to try sending some power to me and he just did; I was able to store it and use it afterward, even if the process was not very efficient, a large part of what Harry sent got lost."

"So what you are proposing is for Ms. Granger to cast the shield and hold it, having previously received from Mr. Potter the energy needed to do so? What do you think Poppy, would it work?"

"I have to say I'm not really happy with the concept of letting a teenager, no matter how bright, to perform something so delicate on another person. That aside, and, Ms. Granger, I assure you there is nothing personal in what I said, I think it could be done: the shield spell is actually a variation of a blocking charm, with the differences of being limited in time and not letting anything pass through and it's quite easy to cast, so no problem there; for all intents and purposes, Mr. Potter would be fully muggle for the duration of the spell and that means we have to be done with the horcrux as fast as possible, before his body begins to miss its magic. I suggest you two start with the energy transfer, the sooner we begin, the sooner we finish and you can return to headquarters with the other Order members none the wiser about your little trip here."

"OK, Harry, are you ready?" Hermione asked in her usual I'm-on-a-mission-let's-get-to-it tone.

"Yes, Hermione. here it comes."

With Harry's core being partially free from its original block, the process of sending energy to Hermione was a lot faster that the other time. Also, they both noticed they lost a much smaller fraction of what he was sending. Hermione commented on the fact and professor McGonagall added "Maybe you being almost at arms' length from each other helps with the overall efficiency of the process."

Hermione mulled over what she knew of the link so far and answered "I'm sure it helps, but I think the main reason is the limitation on my core being no longer present. I know I already passed the amount of energy I was able to store last time and it doesn't feel like I have to stop yet."

"It's almost like Dumbledore knew something like this would happen between us and willingly set things to hinder us." Harry's tone sounded bitter even to himself thinking about such a thing.

"Something like that would be even worse than what already is. I sincerely hope that it is not the case. Harry, you can stop sending, I can't handle anything more." Hermione added.

"You already finished stockpiling? I would think that's a pretty useful capability when one person is completely exhausted and the other is not. What distance did you say you were the first time you tried this?" Madam Pomfrey was after all a Healer and anything to do with a new discovery like this, directly tied to someone's magic core, held a very high interest for her.

"We didn't say. Hermione was being kept in a building about 150 miles north-northwest of London."

"150 miles! You can reach her that far away? That is nothing short of incredible. I can recall some other pairs in medical history capable of mentally reaching each other when about a mile apart, but all accounts say it was a really tiring experience. Now you are telling me you can do that over a quarter of the distance from here to London and still have enough energy to apparate there and back again, with a passenger on the return trip no less, and through two sets of wards? No wonder you collapsed afterward! You really are something else, Mr. Potter." Madam Pomfrey was in awe at the amazing feat he had just described.

Almost embarrassed, Harry answered "Uh, thanks. But I think I could have expanded the range even further than that, it's just that she was at that point and not farther away. And i, well, actually we, collapsed because we were too concerned about escaping that we instinctively used up all the reserves we had instead of just what was needed. And we landed directly in my bedroom at headquarters instead of the alley beside the house as we had hoped."

"Amazing. As I said, you are one of a kind. Now, I suggest we proceed. Ms. Granger, the shield incantation is 'Nucleus sigillo' and you must cast it the moment I finish the spell to severe the current connection. You cannot be either late or early, both would put Mr. Potter at risk: you riming will be crucial for our success. Mr. Potter, I don't know if you will feel any side effect of whatever the horcrux will try to do during the procedure, so I will put you in a full body bind to prevent you from thrashing; I can also add a preventive pain numbing charm, if you want. Remember that while Ms. Granger's shield is active you will not be able to access you magic, so do not even try or you could hurt yourself. And to everyone, once the severing spell is cast, there will be no other option other than to see the procedure to its end, no matter what happens. I apologize in advance for any discomfort you may feel... 'Petrificus Totalus'." with her last few words she froze Harry in place, even if it seemed he wanted to say something to Professor McGonagall.

She had been looking at him and could easily imagine what he wanted to say "Do not worry, Mr. Potter. As I have no active role in the procedure, I'm more than happy to watch out for Ms. Granger, do not fear."

Harry could not express his gratitude to her right now, but made a mental note to do so afterward.

After raising her wand to get into position to break the connection feeding the horcrux, Madam Pomfrey gave Hermione a look and the younger witch got ready with the shield.

"Energeo Rescindo!" the mediwitch incanted and a gray beam shot from her wand to impact Harry, without apparently having any effect, then she shouted "Now, Ms. Granger!"

Hermione reacted immediately with her own spell "Nucleus Sigillo!" and a blue glow surrounded Harry before it contracted and settled in a fist-sized ball near his heart visible only for a slight brightness in the area.

"Good. We seem to have acted with the right timing. The power feed has been broken and if the horcrux needs the amount of energy I suspect, we should not wait for long. Keep the shield steady, Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter will be free from that abomination in no time." The Mediwitch then went on to monitor Harry's vital signs, along with what she could of the horcrux.

After about five minutes both Harry and Hermione began to sweat and the young witch had to be helped to remain standing in her place. She could feel the fragment of Voldemort's soul trying desperately to attack the barrier separating it from the nearest and biggest source of power, and the effects were showing: the horcrux was losing strength rapidly, but so was she. However, she stubbornly refused to let it have its way: 'Harry risked everything to save me, without a thought about his safety. Now that I can repay him, I will not let him down.' It was a near thing, but not much after that a small puff of sickly green smoke rose from Harry's forehead accompanied by an agonizing scream. It lasted a few seconds then it was gone; at the same time Hermione felt the attack cease and with a slow movement turned to Madam Pomfrey to have confirmation that it was over.

The older witch checked Harry with her wand and quickly gave her a nod and said "Ms. Granger, you can let the shield go, the horcrux is gone for good."

The only thing that Hermione could say was "I'm glad." then she collapsed on the floor unconscious. Professor McGonagall lifted her on a nearby bed just as Harry, now not blocked anymore by Hermione's spell, tore through Madam Pomfrey's body bind and cried "Hermione! Hermione! Answer me!"

Then he turned to the healer and demanded "Is she OK? What happened? Oh, please, Hermione, wake up!"

Professor McGonagall was slightly surprised about how emotional her student seemed to be all of a sudden and looked inquiringly to Madam Pomfrey for an explanation.

"I don't know why he would react like that, Minerva, at least not yet. I'll check him in a minute, after I finish with Ms. Granger."

She continued "Oh, thank Merlin, she is just exhausted. She will be fine after a good night of sleep. Unfortunately I think they have to go back to Grimmauld Place as soon as they can and right now she cannot have the undisturbed sleep she needs. Now, let's see about you, Mr. Potter."

She went to work on him ignoring the fact he was getting increasingly restless about not being able to help Hermione. "Mr. Potter! Will you calm down?"

"I can't! I have to help Hermione!"

"I know. Just a few more minutes and you will both be on your way back to headquarters. Be patient now." She replied with a caring edge in her voice.

"Everything looks OK to me. It's just his emotions that are going haywire, it seems that a side effect of harboring the horcrux is that all of Mr. Potter's emotions were dimmed and now, without it, he has to handle them at an intensity level he never experienced and does not know how to keep them in check. Considering that the object of his worry is Ms. Granger, that is, the person closest to him, he is almost going into hysterics. I can help with a calming drought for today, but he will have to learn to deal with that on his own." the nurse said to Professor McGonagall.

"You can leave right now, if you want, but the moment you reach Headquarters I want you to go to bed and sleep until at least tomorrow, is that clear? Now, are you able to carry Ms. Granger?"

"Yes, I can. She is the one that spent all of her energy helping me, I did nothing to get tired." With that, he stood up, lifted Hermione in his arms and, after a brief nod to both adults, set out for the the hump-backed witch and the secret passage.

It took him about half an hour before he got to Honeydukes' and after that just mere seconds to apparate with his still-exhausted best friend to the master bedroom at Grimmauld Place. Once there, he didn't bother with anything else, but gently laid Hermione on the bed, then joined her and promptly fell asleep. Even in that state, they both turned around until they were in position to wrap their arms around each other, at which point they settled down for a much needed and very deep sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Eleven

* * *

It was not a quiet night for Harry. The deep sleep he had fallen into did not last much and after about an hour, he found himself in a curious state: half asleep, but with his brain fully operational and with a level of awareness that was not normal for him.

Becoming quite bored rather quickly, he tried reaching out to Hermione with their link, but she was really tired and would not answer to his calls. This focus on her, however, had the effect of bringing her to the front of his mind and, with nothing better to do, he began thinking about the feelings that were awakened in him at the end of the horcrux removal earlier that day.

Analyzing and making heads and tails of his emotional state had never been a strong point for Harry, and what was running around in his mind at the moment completely baffled him: he had never been on the receiving end of many affection-based emotions and as almost all of what he currently felt, even with him not knowing it, was of that kind, he decided that he would need a different point of reference, something that was at the moment not possible.

Somewhat annoyed at his lack of comprehension of the mess in his head by comparing it to his limited past experiences, but nonetheless firm in his resolve to understand at least some of it, he began with what he knew: his friendship with Hermione.

Of course it was the strongest link he had with any other living being, but just now the image of her that appeared before his mind's eye was a lot more defined and full of colors than ever before. He thought that it was strange, but not unpleasant at all. Maybe what they had experienced in the last few days had brought them even closer together and the Hermione-in-his-head had grown much more real as a result. Even the feeling of friendship for her seemed stronger and deeper that usual, and he was very happy about that.

After Hermione, he quickly sifted through all the mental images of the people he knew and for every one of them he noticed the same as for Hermione: even the negative emotions he felt for some of those people were stronger and more defined than ever before, a fact he certainly regretted when he though about his parents and Sirius. Keeping calm after those had been a miracle he didn't know he could perform.

Such a generalized change screamed to his mind of the aftereffect of a spell having suddenly been removed, and at the moment the only one that fit the description was the horcrux. 'Even my real emotions were stolen from me by that bastard of Voldemort. I was left with just the shadows of what should have been. Will my life ever be free from external influences?'

After checking the images of many of the people he knew, he went back to Hermione's, because it seemed to have changed in ways the others didn't: first of all, in his mental landscape she had assumed the place at the center, a clear sign of the importance she had in Harry's life, but also she was surrounded by a faint golden glow and a barely visible thread of the same color connected her to him, no matter his wanderings or the distance between them.

Even someone as thick as Harry was when it came to understand his feelings could recognize that golden link as the visible appearance of a connection he had with her that went beyond mere friendship, it was just a matter of finding out what exactly it could mean.

To try and do that he moved nearer to Hermione's image and the first thing he noted was that the thread connected the general areas of their hearts, another strong hint as to what the name of that link really could be. He then looked at the thread itself and discovered that is was made of thousands of small images, each of which showed a moment of his life that he had shared with the young witch. Deciding to choose some of those images at random, Harry touched the first with his finger and suddenly he was back to the place and time of the memory itself.

The one he had reached was when Hermione had been the only one to believe he had not put his name in the Goblet of Fire at the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament. A sad memory all things considered, but the feelings of intense loyalty and trust coming from Hermione he remembered were more than offsetting everything else, leaving him in a better mood than before.

More at ease with what he could expect from his exploration, he selected another memory: this one was of after one of the DA meetings, when they silently put things away, then walked back to Gryffindor tower under his invisibility cloak to rest for the day. This time he clearly felt the companionship and the shared satisfaction of a job well done simply because they worked very well as a team.

The next memory was one Harry had often relived in his dreams, the rare times when he did not have a nightmare: the Yule Ball during Fourth Year. That had been the first time he had realized Hermione was not just a friend with a terrific brain, but a beautiful girl as well. The smile she had given him had been nothing short of breathtaking, it still was, even in his mind! Seeing her on the arm of Victor Krum and then how Ron had reacted to her choice of date wor the night brought out the fact that he had almost immediately squashed any notion of a physical and romantic attraction for her for his then-best-mate's sake. How wrong he had been to do that! Ron did not respect Hermione, neither her mind, nor her body, because it was just an object to conquer for him: there was no doubt in Harry's mind that the redheaded prat did not deserve her.

Every single memory he relived, even the few that showed them arguing or disagreeing, such as the one about his Firebolt in Third Year, were so overflowing with her caring for him that it was almost overwhelming. After a while he stopped watching, because the pattern was clear: Hermione was the most important people of his life, he already knew that, but if he took all the feelings the memories had shown him and put them together without the artificial blocks he himself had created, the answer to all of his internal turmoil was a simple one: he loved Hermione. And, considering the attraction that he now could not deny anymore, he loved her as more than a friend and certainly not as a sister: he finally decided the correct description for his current state of mind was that he was in love with Hermione.

The realization floored him to the point that he abruptly awoke in the real world. However, the more he thought about it, the less he could deny it and actually the more he liked it. He didn't even concern himself with Hermione not feeling the same for him, because all the memories had showed her having the same emotions for him, even if she did not experience them at the same times as him. It didn't matter, the end result was the same for her too.

Harry mused that, Hermione being a woman and not being emotionally stunted like he had been, she probably had already figured it out a long time before him. Well, it was not his fault the damn horcrux had been in his body for fifteen years.

His internal struggle now over, he felt like he could finally get some real sleep after a very long day. He turned his look towards Hermione, who was still wrapped in his arms, and settled down relaxedly beside her. Before he fell asleep once again, he noticed a golden glow coming from her and, after looking around to check, from himself as well. The glow faded in a couple of minutes, but had been so similar to the one surrounding Hermione's image in his mind that he took it as a good thing and let himself slip into the same deep sleep as before without any other concern.

* * *

The sun had been up for a few hours when the two teens first showed signs of waking up. Harry, being the one used to very few hours of sleep every night, awoke fully before Hermione, but she followed just ten minutes later .  
They had a very relaxing and refreshing night, and Hermione's lack of energy of the day before was just a memory. They both got up, showered and got dressed before heading for the kitchen to have some breakfast: it was, after all, the best way to recover what they had spent in the Hospital Wing to remove the Horcrux from Harry and destroy it forever.

The late hour let them have the kitchen to themselves, even if the signs of the Weasleys having already made use of it were evident. It didn't bother either of them and in short order they got their food ready and sat down to eat.

Even with all the introspection he had done that night, Harry still had a problem talking to anyone about his feelings, and, having tried without success a few times to bring up the courage to tell everything to Hermione, was about to give up when she, obviously very aware of his current quandary, asked the first question, to break the ice.

"Something on your mind, Harry? You tried to say something four times already. You know you can talk to me about anything." she prodded.

"Well, yeah. It's about what happened yesterday after you blacked out. You see..." he began, but she interrupted him.

"Harry, would you mind if we went to the drawing room to discuss it? I'm still a bit tired and really would like taking advantage of one of the couches there."

"Sure, Hermione, let's go."

The relocation took about a minute or so, but Hermione was now a lot more comfortable and both were happy about that. "OK, Harry, thank you. You can continue now."

"You're welcome Hermione... uh, yes, about what I was saying..."

"Come on, Harry, you know I hate it when I miss something important. At least with you there I have a first-hand account of it."

"OK. Basically, the procedure worked, even if it was a very near thing. You blacked out mere seconds after the horcrux died. However, we discovered a side effect of the horcrux presence: my emotions were all over the place last night and I had some trouble getting to sleep. It seems the bloody thing dampened all of the feelings I have felt since it attached to me. Damn Voldemort and his insane quest for immortality!".

"Harry, language!"

"Sorry. But anyway, I was able to get back to sleep last night only after confronting what I am feeling. The short story is that I discovered something about what I feel for a specific person and after that everything calmed down and I could finally rest."

"If it had such an effect on you, I think I'd like to know who this person is. Do I know him?"

"Her, and yes, I say you know her very well: it's you, Hermione".

She blushed fiercely at that and wondered if maybe he had figured out what she had been hiding for all these years...

"Yes, Hermione, I have" he smirked "you should check our mind link before thinking something like that. It seems that since the horcrux removal it's easier for me to pick your thoughts up, so be careful."

'Oh my! He heard that!'

"Don't worry, Hermione, I have no intentions to be reading your mind every time I want. That is something only you can give me permission to do. Anyway, I think I finally figured out my feelings for you Hermione: it was simply a question of wanting to tackle the problem."

"Oh? And what is the result of your internal vision quest?"

"The result is that I know I love you, Hermione." He answered bluntly "And looking at all the hints, I can easily say it's something that started developing at least two or three years ago, so it's not just a false feeling due to what had been happening lately in my head."

Hermione was speechless and remained silent for some time, but inwardly she was shouting with glee 'He feels that way for me! I cannot believe it! Come on, Granger, if he can summon the courage to tell you, surely you can do the same.'

After a while, her mouth turned into a beautiful smile and she said "Guess what Harry, this night hasn't been full of revelations just for you, but for me as well... my dream has been quite different from yours, but the end result is that I reached the same conclusion, I love you too, Harry!"

After talking a bit about what they had dreamed about, they both understood that their dreams, while very different, developed around the same basic concept: their relationship through the years they had known each other. In that respect, neither could believe how similar their dreams had been; Hermione was also curious about the golden glow coming from them both just after going back to sleep.

"I don't know what to say, Hermione, just that it felt so full of care and comfort that I didn't want to wake you up about it and just ignored it. Please, forgive me, I know it was a risk but nothing bad seems to have happened, so I think it was either a harmless prank or something about our link. Maybe it was a physical manifestation of our connection."

"Maybe. I forgive you, but I think we should ask Professor McGonagall about it at the first occasion we have. For now, what do you say we get some more sleep? I'm still quite tired."

"OK, it does seem a good idea... then again, your ideas are generally good ones. Let me sit down... here, you can lean on me if you want."

"Thank you, Harry, I certainly will." She leaned her head on his left shoulder and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she reached out with her left hand while he did the same with his right. When they connected, their fingers intertwined and the two lost no time going back to sleep in each other company, with a final heartfelt declaration instead of 'sweet dreams': 'I love you Harry' she sent, to which he answered 'I love you too, Hermione. Sleep well; I hope we meet in our dreams.'

The golden glow that had already appeared briefly two times came back too as soon as they closed their eyes, but this time it did not fade, instead giving out a big pulse of energy then settling to a warm and steady glow around them.

The members of the Order of the Phoenix currently present at Grimmauld Place all felt the burst of energy coming from the first floor and rushed to investigate. What they found was the couple of teenagers sleeping on a couch with their hands joined and a soft glow emanating from them both. No one knew what was happening, but someone had the presence of mind to call Professor McGonagall, since the two were still students and therefore under her responsibility, even if Hogwarts was not in session right then; moreover, until Moody came back from the mission he was currently involved in, she was the one unofficially in charge of what was left of the Order.

McGonagall arrived minutes later and went to Harry and Hermione's side without saying a word. She cautiously tried to shake them awake (something no one had thought to try), but her attempt was cut short when her hand reached the limit of the glow: a physical barrier stopped her and she wisely chose to not even try to push with a little more force, she didn't want to be hurled away and leave her impression in the wall behind her.

It didn't matter that she could not touch her charges, because she already had a pretty good idea about what was happening, but she needed confirmation. With Dumbledore dead, to her knowledge only one other had witnessed something like this in his life, and it was no coincidence he was the one the Order had turned to when Harry had surrounded his bedroom with powerful wards: their resident charms expert, Professor Flitwick.

A floo call for his assistance from the Headmistress in a matter regarding two of his students, whose identities Flitwick had no problem guessing, had him landing out of the fireplace at Grimmauld place almost immediately. After all, if what Minerva suspected was true, this would be the only opportunity he would have of witnessing another soul bond in his life. Besides, both Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter, even if they were not in his House, were two of his most cherished students, although for different reasons: one was an absolute joy to teach and had the unquenchable thirst for knowledge that his scholar self still felt, while the other... well, Mr. Potter would do anything in his power to help his friends and his leadership showed what kind of man he would one day become. That was before one even considered the debts the wizarding world owed to the young wizard.

As his colleague had done just half an hour before, he too went to the couple's side, but instead of trying to touch either of the children, he withdrew his wand and cast a detection spell, softly murmuring the incantation.

The glow around the teens pulsed briefly before returning to the previous state. Apparently satisfied, Flitwick turned to Professor McGonagall and said: "You were right, Minerva. They have started a soul bonding. Actually, all the books call this the second phase, even if it's the first visible: the real first phase, when the initial bond is forged, is usually known only to the two participants and sometimes not even to them. It appears this bond will be quite powerful... not surprising, considering what Mr. Potter is capable of; the fact that Ms. Granger is 'up there' in terms of raw power won't exactly hinder things either."

"I was almost certain, but I still preferred your word on the matter, Filius. What do we do now?" McGonagall acknowledged.

"Amusingly, the same thing we did last time Mr. Potter decided to take matters in his own hands: we wait. Nobody is to touch or otherwise disturb them, it would be very dangerous, although more for the trespasser than for them. Everyone can go on with their normal duties, there is no need to stand here and keep watch for what I think will be a very long time. I can guarantee we will all feel it when they get out of their little world."

"Very well." McGonagall nodded, then turned to the Order members present. "You all heard Professor Flitwick. There is no danger here, so go back to what you were doing and do not worry."

"I'd like to point out that there will be many more pulses like the one you felt when this started, it's the normal evolution of the bond. The time between two successive pulses will shorten gradually, the few records of the process I read say each pause will be roughly half the previous one. In the end, the last pulses will blend together and the energy emission will settle at a steady level; until that happens nothing is going to change and it could be hours or even days before Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger reach that point: the more powerful the couple bonding, the longer the time it will take."

At the beginning of the explanation, Hermione's parents had joined the others in the drawing room and felt relieved as they heard Professor Flitwick's word that everything was going to be OK, but they still had no idea what the 'soul bond' was or what it meant for their daughter, and asked as much to the two professors.

"A soul bond is a form of connection between two people, and to begin it they have to have very strong feelings for each other, to the point that love alone is not enough. That is the main reason this kind of thing is very rare. I saw it happen just one other time in my life, while for Minerva this is the first time, if I'm not mistaken." professor Flitwick began. Beside him McGonagall nodded at the end of the sentence.

"It also has very important consequences, both for their private life as well as for their public one: what Filius said before about the first phase being the forging of an initial bond is true and Harry and Hermione already confirmed it: they told me they had been capable of mentally talking with each other for about a year now. Among other things, they can also share thoughts, emotions, their senses and even raw energy; they know where the other is with respect to themselves at all times. It's actually what Harry used to reach Hermione when she was kidnapped: for him that capability is so strong that he was able to find her 150 miles from here, and still he did not reach his limit. With all that, it should not be a surprise that both parties would often consider themselves as one single person split in two bodies. Actually, that is the reason for the public consequence of the bond: wizarding law recognizes the bond and considers it the strongest form of marriage there is: before you ask, it's just plainly impossible to break it, not even with the death of one or both of them. I'm sorry if I seem to be quite blunt in telling you all this, but you have to understand what is happening. I can assure you that no one forced Hermione into this, it was her own feelings that let the process begin. Of course, the same is true for Mr. Potter: they both had to allow it to happen, even if it most likely was not a conscious choice." Professor McGonagall then fell silent to let the Grangers digest the news.

To say that Hermione's parents were speechless would have been an understatement... their daughter was married! 'At least,' her mother thought while letting herself sink into a chair, 'it's not to that idiot Weasley.' Then aloud she said "I know that Hermione has had feelings for Harry for some time now and that he would do anything for her, he already proved that many times, but to feel that strongly for each other? You said love alone is not enough, that is a pretty big statement to make. Are you sure it is not an exaggeration?"

"Very sure, Mrs. Granger. Trust us: the effects of such a bond, as rarely as its forging happened throughout history, are well known. We know it's quite sudden but think about the fact that your daughter will always have someone at her side from this moment on. It will also increase her abilities as a witch immensely, because the two of them will share all the power they have and with Mr. Potter that is saying something. He is tens of times more powerful than any other wizard, both alive and dead!"

Professor McGonagall's last sentence caught the interest of her colleague and he asked "Are you sure of that, Minerva? Sure, Mr. Potter is well above average in terms of raw energy, but..."

"What you think was his normal power level was actually what was left after a block on his core and some leeching for the benefit of other people. He was left with about two percent of what he should have had. I regret to say that, aside from his scar sucking a small fraction of the remaining share, everything else was of Albus's own doing."

"Two percent! Sweet Merlin! Now I can understand why he could overpower the wards around here, I know of no seal that can be placed on someone's core that could prevent almost full access to if the person really wants it. From what you just said, I think I'm right to say this was such a case. I do not understand why Albus would do something as awful as leeching energy from a student, though."

"I don't either, but he did. Yes, this was one of those cases the seal could not cope with Mr. Potter's stubbornness, thankfully. The two of them will be an almost unstoppable force once they complete this phase as well as the next."

Mrs. Granger ears perked at this statement from the Headmistress.

"What do you mean with 'this phase as well as the next', professor?" she asked.

"Well, obviously, this phase is the strengthening of the initial bond and will be over as soon as they wake up. At that point the law will already consider them married, but there is another step they have to do for the bond to reach its final form: the physical bonding... you are both doctors, I'm sure I don't have to explain it further, do i?" Professor McGonagall ended with a touch of amusement and a little blush on her cheeks.

Nothing could have prepared Mr. Granger for this and, regrettably, he had still been standing at that moment.

He fell over on the floor but immediately recovered and chocked out "You mean...?"

"Yes, dear. She means exactly that. It's not completely unexpected, considering the children will be 'married', but I understand your shock. Father's little girl and all that." Mrs. Granger answered her husband's unfinished question.

"Mrs. Granger, Mr. Granger, there is another thing you have to be aware; we will make sure to tell Harry and Hermione as soon as they awake, but for now it's important you know it: the profound link between the two of them works for negative things as well: if one of them is injured, the other will feel the pain. If one of them dies..." the Headmistress trailed off.

"You mean one cannot survive without the other? My God!" Hermione's mother almost screeched.

"I'm afraid not, Mrs. Granger. I know it's not of any consolation, but usually the surviving partner does not want to survive his soulmate's death, and the bond condemning him is often considered a good thing by them." Professor Flitwick supplied, then added: "Normally it shouldn't be a concern, because it is offset by the fact that they share their healing capabilities too, but we are in the middle of a war and Mr. Potter is right at the center of it. Your daughter too, and not just because of the bond, but you already know that."

After that, the two professors took their leave and returned to Hogwarts, leaving the Grangers to think about what had been said. Despite the diminutive professor's advice, they decided to remain in the room and keep watch until Harry and Hermione woke up.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Twelve

* * *

Professor Flitwick's prevision that Harry and Hermione could take days before awakening seemed to be the most accurate, because they were still sleeping after two days; there had been another pulse, about 30 hours after the first: it what Professor Flitwick said was correct, the two teenagers should be close to waking up in another 30 hours. Of course, that meant the Grangers had to take a few breaks from their vigil to get some rest of their own and to eat something.

It was during one of these periods, when only the young couple was in the drawing room, that Ron and Ginny came back to Grimmauld Place with their mother. Officially, it was to inform everyone in the Order about the final arrangements for Bill's wedding, but the two children thought it would be a good opportunity to begin slipping some of the potions they had been preparing to their 'friends'.

Upon arriving at the house they sought out the other Order members present and told them about the wedding, then, after checking to be sure they were home free, went to search for Harry and Hermione.

Passing through the kitchen they noticed two adults taking a break from guard duty and after a few seconds realized they were talking about their targets, so, trying to be inconspicuous, the two redheads listened attentively.

"...they sure are taking their time. I can't believe they are still sleeping after more than a full day!" the first woman said.

"Well, Professor Flitwick said it could take days, depending on how much power the two have. You know as well as I do that Potter is quite the powerhouse... I suppose he has to be, to be able to survive all the encounters he supposedly had with You-know-who." The second replied.

"I agree. From what I hear, that girl, Granger, is not bad either."

"Yes, but anyway, it shouldn't be much longer: I think they will be up and about by tomorrow evening at the latest."

The first woman then chuckled and began again "Let's hope they do not go right back to being unconscious from the news the moment they hear them, though. Ah!, married at seventeen and not knowing it! I suppose it could be worse, after all the girl got The-boy-who-lived..." The two guards joined in a good laugh at the expense of the children upstairs and returned to their duties.

Both Ron and Ginny were quite puzzled about what the two witches were talking about, but decided to ignore it in favor of the piece of information that they needed, the current location of Harry and Hermione.

Approaching the drawing room, they noticed something peculiar: a soft glow was coming out of the open door. They did not know what was causing it, but if both Harry and Hermione were in there it couldn't be dangerous, so they continued walking and entered the room. The sight of their two friends on the couch, holding hand while they slept, was quite unexpected for the two Weasleys sibling and both stopped suddenly, momentarily lost for words.

Ron was the first to recover and let loose in his usual manner: "Potter! What the hell are you doing with my girlfriend? Let go of her!"

His shout had no effect on the sleeping couple, however, and Ginny took it as a hint to try herself "Hermione, you whore! The moment Harry is out of my sight you are all over him! I'm so going to kill you!" Inwardly, however, she was worried 'It's as I thought, the charms have failed! Good thing I already prepared the love potions to control them.'

The next second saw Ron, who did not like being ignored, lunging at what should have been his best mate to make him let go of Hermione. His attempt did not go as planned, though. It was true he didn't have any experience with this phase of the soul bonding process, or any other for that matter, but an averagely intelligent person would have at least considered the glow coming from the couple warily before trying to physically rush them. No such luck with Ron and indeed he found himself thrown back across the room, his flight stopped only by the wall he eventually reached.

With a dull thud that could be felt clearly in the kitchen one floor below, he fell on the floor and stayed there trying to shake the dizziness from his head.

Seeing her brother's approach fail miserably, and not wanting to be hurt too, Ginny tried a different tactics and sent a spell towards the couple. Luckily for her, she had chosen a tickling charm, because it rebounded the instant it touched the barrier and came right back at her. She managed to avoid it, but got the hint that this was not a viable alternative either.

The noise caused by Ron had been heard by those in the kitchen, Hermione's parents included. The were startled by the sudden sound and, after exchanging a quick glance, got up and ran to the stairs as fast as they could. When they got into the drawing room, they saw the two Weasleys, the girl with her wand still pointing at their daughter and the boy unconscious on the floor. Hermione had to get her intelligence from someone, and actually had gotten a generous share from both her parents: they did not need much time to figure out what had just happened and immediately moved to stand between Ginny and the couch.

"What are you trying to do, young lady?" Mr. Granger shouted at Ginny.

"That is none of your business! I want what is mine and your slut of a daughter has to let him go!"

"I think you have no right to make that request. Hermione is free to be with who she wants. So is Harry. And I will not tolerate you insulting my daughter any longer." Mrs. Granger had decided to start with a soft approach, at first, but was rapidly changing her idea.

"The hell she has! Harry is my boyfriend and Hermione, even though I do not want a whore like her associating with my family, is with Ron!" Ginny answered angrily.

"Well, things change. Besides, I know for a fact that Harry broke up with you after Dumbledore's funeral. Hermione did the same with Ron a few days ago, so both your claims are false." Mrs. Granger still tried to use logic with the enraged girl, but could see why her daughter had repeatedly said wizards and witches did not know what that was.

"Ha! Everyone knows Harry broke up with me for my safety. It's just a temporary thing, we will be back together the day he kills You-know-who and becomes the hero of the wizarding world once again! Nothing can change that!" she paused to let her declaration sink in, then continued "And what Hermione told Ron means nothing: he is a pureblood, and his word is law to a mudblood like her! Now out of my way before I hex you!"

"I think she sees things differently. Considering that when she awakes she will a lot more powerful than your brother will ever be, I'd say she will be able to have it her way."

"What do you mean she will be more powerful? What's happening?"

"As I said, things change, young lady. To answer your question, and the one your brother will no doubt ask too, even if he is... indisposed at the moment, it seems Harry and Hermione have started the formation of a soul bond. I'm sure Professors McGonagall or Flitwick could explain it better than us, but the basic idea is that they now share each other's hearth, mind, magic, and soul. Even if your claim to still be Harry's girlfriend was true, it wouldn't matter, the bond overrides anything else; the same of course applies to Hermione. In practical terms it means that, as soon as they complete this phase, according to your laws they will be married." Mrs. Granger informed the young witch in a matter-of-factly voice almost identical to Hermione's own.

"Married! So that is what those two witches in the kitchen were talking about, well, we will see about that! I'll kill Hermione and Harry will be mine again!" Ginny shouted.

Hermione's father found this irritating girl was making his blood boil 'Killing my daughter, eh? I just know what to say to shut you up'. Aloud, he smirked and told her: "Wrong idea, I'm afraid. Aside from being almost impossible to carry it out, Professor Flitwick said that killing one of them means killing both. And it would be useless even if that was not the case, a soul bond cannot be broken, not even by death: you are simply out of luck. Now, I think both Hermione and Harry would not like to see you and your brother first thing after they wake up, kindly leave this room and don't return. Oh, and take the sack of potatoes over there with you."

Mr. Granger's blunt dismissal was not something the redheaded witch was used to and what he said had her brain grind to a halt, it seemed her plans came undone in the space of a heartbeat! Since there was nothing she could do because her magic was ineffective against the couple until they were like that, she silently did as she was told and with a contemptuous movement of her wand levitated her brother before herself, disappearing towards her usual room.

* * *

It seemed Harry and Hermione still had some time to go before they woke up, and in that time the Grangers finally began thinking about what had been happening in the last day: their minds had refused to assimilate what they had been told until that moment, but they couldn't delay it any further.

It was Mrs. Granger's outburst that first opened the dam "I can't believe it! Hermione is married! My daughter is already married!"

"I know what you mean. What should I say? It's a father's job to ensure his little girl doesn't get hurt while looking for the right person! I didn't get that chance and now I only have her professors' word that this boy loves her and is not going to hurt her. It's not fair!" Mr. Granger added; "I know what I said a few minutes ago to those obnoxious redheads, but it was like I was on autopilot: they threatened Hermione and I reacted in the only way I could. But I don't know how to handle the other half of the matter."

"You mean Harry."

"Yes, Harry. Hermione's letters have always been full of things about him, of how he was her first true friend, of how he still is, of how he stayed faithfully at her side throughout their school years no matter what. The problem is that knowing it in my mind and knowing it in my heart are very different things. I only have that first type of knowledge, but somehow it'll have to be enough: you heard them, the soul bond cannot be broken, not even by death. If that is not 'forever', I don't know what could be."

"I know. I feel the same way. But we cannot let it stop us, we have to help Hermione, to show her that we are still there for her no matter what. It means we will have to accept her... husband, our son-in-law... too, because even if I can guarantee that they will be shocked when we tell them what has happened, I'm sure they will never think of this bond as a mistake or something they do not want. As you said, it's difficult having just the word of someone else that they love each other as much as supposedly needed to begin the soul bond because they are asleep and can't express what they feel with words, but on the other hand I've been sitting here for more than forty hours watching them and the caring they have for each other is easy to see. That glow emitting from them will be there only until they complete this phase but their love is radiating off of them and even I can feel it: I know I shouldn't be able to because I don't have magic. How powerful does that mean it is, then?"

"...I know. I can feel it too. I suppose you're right, but the problem is it's so sudden and I still haven't accepted it in my heart. It will take time, I think."

"Even if that were true, for Hermione's sake we have to support her. There is no other way. If, privately in our hearts, we need some time to come to grips with the situation, then that's the way it is, but me must be there for her... for them... no matter what."

"We will." Mr. Granger concluded with a sense of purpose. "Now, if only they would get up..."

* * *

Harry and Hermione 'got up' nearly twenty hours later, feeling completely rested and unaware of what had happened to them. The Grangers were on the sofa beside their own and appeared to be resting too, the stress of the situation and the tiredness for the long vigil finally catching up with them. Their sleep was very light, however, because of their worry for the two teenagers: both parents woke up as soon as Harry and Hermione made some noise leaving their couch.

"Hermione! Oh dear, you are awake! I'm so glad. We were all worried about when the two of you would wake up." Her mother began.

"What do you mean, Mrs. Granger? I think we nodded off for a few minutes, hardly something to mention, let alone worry about." Harry asked to the mother-in-law he did not know he had 'acquired'.

"You were on that couch for a lot more than that! You have been asleep for more than two and a half days!"

"How could that be possible! It didn't feel that way for us." Hermione declared.

"Well, another thing we will have to ascribe to the bond, I think." Mr. Granger answered cryptically.

"What do you mean 'bond'? Would someone please tell us what is happening?" Hermione almost shouted.

"Well, we can give you the short version. You'll have to go to professors McGonagall or Flitwick for the more detailed one. Anyway, it seems you two have something to say before we begin, don't you?" Hermione's mother glanced at the children's hands that were still joined and the fingers intertwined.

Hermione followed her mother gaze and yelped when she realized what she meant. Harry was alternating between looking down at his feet, a blush coloring his face, and shooting nervous glances at Mr. Granger.

However surprised or embarrassed the two teens were, they were not going to lie about anything to her parents, so they took their places across the two adults and answered their questions. "Yes, mum, my relationship with Harry changed just before we fell asleep. We both realized our feelings for the other are much deeper than simple friendship. We were able to talk about it and decided to be together from now on. I will tell you right now I will not take kindly to anything you may have to say against us as a couple, so you can just save it." Hermione felt the strange need to lay some ground rules for her parents, but she didn't know why. Maybe it was something in their stance that she was not consciously aware of, whereas her subconscious could pick it up immediately. She continued "Mum, now that we have told you our news, would you mind telling us what happened during our 'little' kip? And I still do not understand why you wanted to know about me and Harry before anything else. I don't think it has anything to do with what has you so worried."

"On the contrary, Hermione, it has everything to do with what just happened. You see, we found you two asleep on that couch, your hands joined and with this glow surrounding you. Nobody here had any idea what was happening, so we called McGonagall and Flitwick and they were able to tell us exactly what was going on. Apparently, you two just completed the second phase of a soul bonding and..."

Hermione interrupted her exclaiming: "We were glowing again! And what do you mean with 'soul bond'?"

"Why do you say 'again', was there any other time it happened?"

"Yes, at least once, a few days ago. We were... uh, well, getting ready to go to b... to sleep when Harry noticed it. Apparently, I was so out of it I never saw anything. He didn't bother to tell me, because the glow faded after a few seconds. Maybe it happened other times that we don't know about, but that's not important; it seems those were 'practice' runs before the uh, second phase, you said? OK, before the second phase could start for real."

"And start it did. You two had us all concerned, because nothing and nobody could touch you, and those who tried got thrown against the far wall." Mr. Granger quipped.

"OK, OK, now please start over, from the beginning, otherwise we will never understand what's going on."

"Well, the soul bond is..." For the next hour, Hermione's mother told them the abridged version of what had happened. Once she finished, all four of them fell silent, to let the new couple mull over things at their own pace.

Finally, after five minutes of waiting, Hermione's mother could not resist asking "What is it, Hermione? Are you upset because of the bond? I thought you two wanted to be together and even if it takes that notion to an extreme, the soul bond will enforce that forever."

"No, I'm not upset. I'm surprised, that's for sure, but the soul bond is not really unexpected: even without it we were already getting closer and I honestly think it would have been just a matter of time before we took our relationship in that direction. It seems we were spared all the angst and anguish that path would have brought with it, and I for one am glad that the connection with Harry is the strongest there could be. Do not worry, I'm very pleased with how things turned out. No, we were just thinking about the reaction people will have to this news... and we finally decided we don't care."

"Considering how fast our so-called 'friends' change their opinions about me, it's unlikely we will pay them much heed from now on." Harry added.

"Well, I can't say I disagree with that. There is just a little bit left to say, and it is about the two youngest Weasleys. They came back today, I think to tell everyone something about the wedding, but after a few minutes they were here, shouting and threatening you two for being too close to each other. Ron even tried to physically separate you and got thrown back in the wall for his troubles. Ginny tried with a spell but it was reflected back at her. We had a few words with them and they left for their room, but I'm afraid that's not the last time you will have to worry about them."

"We know that, Mrs. Granger. We also know they will most likely try something with love and mind control potions and we are ready for them. And when they do make their move, we will make sure they have bothered us for the last time." Harry said with an implacable undertone.

"Let's hope it's not tonight, I think all of us have had enough excitement for one day. Both your father and I are tired and hungry and I know the two of you haven't had anything to eat in more than sixty hours. I propose a trip to the kitchen to remedy the situation." Mrs. Granger said, hoping to close the day in a more relaxing way.

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea, mum. Even with all the sleep we had, I'm also a bit tired. What about you, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"The same... uh, Hermione, what about, you know, our sleeping arrangements?" He was suddenly nervous as all hell, because they had not told Hermione's parents of their choice of company at night, but now that they were married, it would almost be a certainty they would want to be together.

Exactly as they expected, Mr. Granger opened his mouth to voice his opinion, mainly that the two would sleep in different rooms, magically married or not. He was however cut off before he could utter a syllable by his wife who, while as stern looking as he, was much more accepting. "Don't say a thing, dear, and let me handle it. Hermione, Harry, I know you want to sleep together, I expected no less from you, but I want you to promise me that you'll do nothing you could regret later. It's a favor I ask for our peace of mind, we both need time to get used to the idea of our daughter being married."

"Mrs. Granger, I assure you that we will only sleep tonight... OK, well maybe we will talk a little and... hold each other, but that's it. We have to get used to it too. If Hermione wants to have a formal wedding ceremony, either muggle or magical, I promise you we will wait until then. It will give us a chance to enjoy being a couple and to let things proceed at a 'normal', or what passes for normal for us, pace."

Harry's answer greatly pleased Hermione and she hugged him tightly, before letting him go to settle down at the kitchen table for their dinner. Afterward, she took his hand and lead him to their room. Upon entering the bedroom, they wished the Grangers good night and closed the door, got ready for bed and fell asleep the moment they touched the mattress, wrapped in each other's arms. They did not move from that position until the next morning, when they got up feeling completely rested and absolutely happy about their new relationship.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Thirteen

* * *

"Ron, wake up, Ron!" Ginny whispered to her brother.

"Ghnnn. Gin i's to rly, go'way!" Ron slurred in his half-awake state.

"You big lummox! Don't you want your bitch back? We have to act now if we want to succeed!" She replied angrily.

"Ummm... OK, I'm up... What were you talking about, Gin?"

"I said that we have to act quickly to get our prizes."

"Why, what difference does another hour make?"

"The difference is that the more time Harry and Hermione spend together, the more difficult it's going to be to use the potions on them. Right now, those two have had about a night time to learn about their bond and that was spent mostly sleeping. Also, I know for a fact that neither of them spoke with McGonagall or Flitwick yet and the information they have on the bond are second hand through Hermione's muggle parents. I'm sure Flitwick simplified things quite a bit when he explained to them and their subsequent retelling is bound to have at least a few errors and some pieces missing. If we want to strike, this is the best time, because in the next few days, or even today, our 'Golden Couple' will certainly get together with the professors to get a more advanced briefing on the soul bond. That, or Hermione will find the information they need in a book."

"OK, I get the point; so, what did you plan for them?"

"Uhmpff, luckily I have a brain and know how to use it, you would never know where to start. I went to mum last night and she agreed to help. Right now, we are going to have breakfast. I'll tell you everything once we are in the kitchen."

* * *

Harry woke up slowly and found himself still wrapped in a hug by Hermione; he decided it was a wonderful way to begin the day. In a few seconds his wife started stirring too and he couldn't stop himself think 'My wife! I like how that sounds!'.

Hermione smiled and aloud said "I like it too. Almost as much as I like to think of you as my husband, Harry."

"Well, it just proves we are a very good match, doesn't it?"

"Yes, quite. Harry, I would like nothing more than to stay here like this for the whole day, but I don't want my mother to get mad if we don't show ourselves out of here quite soon. Besides, I know I could use some food."

"You are right, as usual. Let's get ready and go to reassure your parents then. After that we can have our breakfast as I'm quite hungry too. Come on."

With that they both began their morning routine and got ready in a little over fifteen minutes. It turned out Hermione's parents were still in their bedroom, although they could hear the two adults getting ready for the day too. Harry and Hermione decided to wait for them and go to breakfast all together.

Five minutes and a couple of reassuring answers from the younger couple later, the party made their way to the kitchen. To their surprise, that particular place in the house was not empty as they had expected, given the hour and the schedule the residing Order members used, the three Weasleys were there, apparently for the same reason; there weren't that many uses for a kitchen, after all.

Molly Weasley was busy at the stove, preparing Ron and Ginny's meals. Upon seeing the other group entering the room and taking places around the table, she made a show of grumbling but went on to cook enough food for everyone.

That action raised a red alarm flag in Harry's head and he immediately opened the link with Hermione to get her opinion. 'Hermione, have you seen Mrs. Weasley just now? She looked very annoyed with us four, but without saying a word put together the breakfasts for us too. maybe I'm being paranoid, but don't you think it's a bit strange? We both have been on the outs with the three of them, and now all of a sudden...' his thought trailed off.

'Well, it could be as you think, but I really don't know.' Hermione answered.

'I know. But, wait a moment... what time is it right now?'

'About a quarter to seven, why?'

'What is Ron doing up at this time? I understand he likes his mother's cooking, but it's still summer and he never get out of bed before at least nine o'clock. Something is definitely not right. We need to be on the lookout for anything, Hermione.'

'Well, what do you propose? What you said makes sense, you know, what with us knowing they will use potions and Molly cooking for us.'

'I have no idea... could we just make it seem like we are eating but instead we vanish the bite in our mouth just an instant before we swallow it?'

'Yes, we could, but remember that we need proof of them trying to use illegal potions on us, it would be better to send the food somewhere else, sort of like 'apparating' it away, only instead of moving ourselves, we move only the food.'

'Brilliant! We will have to do it silently but I know we can do it without problems.'

Outwardly, the two appeared to have been silent all along while they sat at the table waiting for their meals. Once the plates arrived the seven started eating, with Ginny occasionally glancing around at Harry and Hermione: the two of them were eating normally, so she was completely sure her potions would be very quick to act.

Harry and Hermione, however were having a hard time giving the impression they were consuming their food, because they had to make it appear as they were swallowing their bites while in truth they were concentrating on apparating the food away to another room. It took a fair bit of mental power, but both were able to pull it off. However, the process was not perfect and small quantities of potion laced food still went into their stomachs.

It became apparent they were not as successful as they hoped when, ten minutes after the meal had begun, both Harry and Hermione felt something strange happen and unwanted thoughts formed in their heads about the Weasleys their respective potions had been keyed to.

It was not as fast a process as Ginny had hoped, because it had taken almost a quarter of an hour before her target had begun showing signs of the potion working, and she had been worried all the time. Now that Harry had stopped eating, letting his fork fall on the table, and was closing his eyes in an attempt to fight the mind controlling concoction, she gave a silent whoop of joy, accompanied by a mental 'Yes! It's working!'

Actually, both Hermione and Harry had been aware of the potions trying to work their dark magic on them fairly early, a lot before they showed anything on their faces, and had already been fighting them as best as they could.

They were slowly losing, though, the first and surest indication the ever-increasing difficulties they were having in keeping their minds thinking straightly.  
It was almost to the point where Harry was alternating bouts of coherent thought with moments of black out when only Hermione's of Ginny's names where surfacing, and the latter was gaining in numbers.

Hermione was having the same internal struggle, of course, but also had the advantage of a highly organized mind and years of experience juggling complex thoughts, sometimes more than one at a time. It was no surprise, hence, that she could still try to think of something to get them out of this problem, although she still had no idea what Harry and she could do about it.

In the kitchen the Grangers had noticed that something was not right with their daughter and son-in-law and as the two teens' facial expressions quickly became grimaces, they knew something was afoot.

"Hermione, what's the matter? Hermione, answer me! Harry?" Mrs. Granger asked worriedly but got no answer from the pair. With fury in her eyes she turned to the Weasleys who, seated at the other end of the table, where watching with interest and expectation what was happening. "What have you done to the kids? Why don't you ever leave them be?" she asked angrily.

Only Mrs. Weasley turned her head to answer and it was with scorn dripping from her voice "We are doing what is best for us. Harry is our key to bring wealth and respect to the Weasley family. Your daughter is not so important, but will be a good thing for Ron. Not that it's any of your business, so I think that I have to deal with you right now 'Stupefy!'" Her wand was pointed directly to Mrs. Granger and the effect of the spell was immediate. Mr. Granger had just the time to turn his head to see what had happened to his wife before he heard the spell again and a second later slumped in his chair unconscious.

Mrs. Weasley continued "We will deal with the muggles later, for now let's finish here."

She received nods from both of her children and all three of them went back to wait for Harry and Hermione to finally succumb to the potions.

The couple, however, had no intention to do just that and where still trying to fight, but had to struggle more and more as time passed. Hermione suddenly tried opening the link to Harry and sent 'Harry! Let's try together!'

His answer was stilted at best, but readily complied 'O... OK, 'Mione...'

The moment the link was established, both teens stopped squirming: the potions Hermione and Harry had ingested were keyed to Ron and Ginny respectively and were very difficult to fight for them because they created false but very strong feelings of love. When the soul mates connected, however, the female half of their shared mind, contributed by Hermione, was easily able to reject any romantic suggestion towards Ginny, the same way the male half, coming from Harry, could do about Ron.

They were then free from the effects of the potions, but not from the potion itself as it still was in their bodies. The two had to think fast, because, from outside, the fact they had apparently stopped struggling for control could be seen as the potions having won, at which time the Weasleys would proceed with their plan and neither Harry nor Hermione wanted any part in what would be next. Harry refused to let his mind wander down the path of considering what exactly Ron had wanted from Hermione in the first place.

'Harry, we need to be rid of the potion, and we need to do it fast! Oh, I don't know what to do...' Hermione was not behaving the way she would normally have in such a situation and Harry suspected that, for her, Ginny had been more creative and had mixed in something that robbed the witch of her most powerful weapon, her mind. It also seemed to be getting worse, because moments later he could not hear anything more from her, even if the link itself was still active.

'OK, it seems I'm on my own here... if I remember correctly, most of the potions are quite sensitive to heat after they are ready... unfortunately they also degrade into a lot of nasty poisons, blast it! Wait a moment... I cannot use heat, but strong spells usually spoil potions too, and only remove the magic in them, not change the brew itself! As the love potions are obviously safe to drink, we would be fine!' Harry reasoned. Then a thought hit him '...uh, strange... I would normally not be able to make head or tails about potions... I think joining minds with Hermione really helps sometimes!'

He then set about doing something he seemed to have to practice often in the last weeks: gathering energy; he needed to build some reserves and to release it all in a purging burst. 'The potions are not that powerful and we ingested very few of them in the first place, so I think I do not need that much power... at least for myself. I hope when the wave leaves my body it will still be strong enough to neutralize what is still in Hermione's stomach... Here goes nothing...'

Concentrating on his magic, Harry released what amount of energy he had available. The redheads in the kitchen had been waiting, rather impatiently, for the moment they could be sure the potions had had their intended effect, and were not prepared for the sudden outburst of raw power that came from Harry. It was strong enough to knock them off their chairs and make them dizzy.

'OK, that went well... now to see if it worked...' Harry cautiously released his link with Hermione, earning a whimper from her. He waited for five seconds, then ten, then half a minute. After a couple of minutes he opened his eyes and looked to Hermione: outwardly, she seemed calm and, after a quick peek in her mind, he could tell that she, too, had no false feelings for Ron. 'Good. At least the love potion is not active anymore; I hope the other poison has been neutralized too, but I have to make sure she is safe first, the I'll call Madam Pomfrey. And now, let's handle the bloody traitors!'

He turned to face the three redheads who where still picking themselves up from the floor; with undisguised hatred in his eyes he roared "You bastards! This is the last straw! I'll never forgive that you tried to split Hermione and I apart and with love potions, no less! I don't know, and don't really care, if you ever really were our friends all these years, it's over! Leave this house and never return! That goes for you too, Molly: from now on you are not allowed to come here, not even on Order's business. My godfather, Hermione and myself helped you any way we could and this is how you repay us? I don't think so! Now out of my way, before I hex you from here to the Burrow!"

The three Weasleys were shocked that Harry had spoken that way to them, something was not right! The potion should have enforced his loyalty, but here he was, threatening and accusing them.

Mrs. Weasley tried to calm him down "Harry, dear, nothing like that ever happened, you are just confused. Let me and Ginny take care of you, Ron will do the same for Hermione and everything will be alright."

"What do you think I am, stupid? It may interest you that I neutralized your foul brews and am not under their influence. Even after what you have done, you still have the gall to try and sweettalk to us. Well, put it through your thick skull, neither me nor Hermione will ever be with your children. Now get lost, I have to look after Hermione and her parents. You have an hour to leave the house."

After that, Harry waited for the Weasleys to leave the kitchen, but Ron, just as he was passing in front of his now ex-best friend, turned sideways and let loose a right hook aimed at Harry's face.

Despite not needing to keep in top shape for the upcoming quidditch season at Hogwarts, because he most likely would not be playing, Harry's reflexes were still very good: Ron's punch went wide, because, as always, he never had much control of his movements when he was angry. Harry's answer, on the other hand, nailed the redhead square in the gut, making him double over in pain. "You are lucky only one of you is male, you wouldn't have been safe from me otherwise." With his eyes narrowing in concentration, Harry sent Ron tumbling halfway through the sitting room by just thinking about that "You also do not seem to understand that I have a lot more power than any of you and the control to do what I want with it. You'll never be able to beat me ever again."

The Weasleys finally left towards the stairs and their rooms to pack. Harry glared for another moment at their retreating figures, then turned to the three Grangers; a couple of quick 'Enervate's had Hermione's parents immediately stirring and rejoining the land of living, but it was Hermione herself that worried him. Trusting the Grangers with their daughter's safety for the time being, he went to the fireplace and floo called Madam Pomfrey to ask her for help.

The mediwitch wasted no time in reaching Grimmauld Place and was at Hermione's side almost before she had righted herself from tripping out of the fireplace. She began casting detection spells and frowned at the results she got. "Mr. Potter, I don't understand. You said she had been drugged with both a love potion and something that caused her mind to become almost undone, yet I cannot find any of that. What has happened here?"

"Madam Pomfrey, I had to use a rather unorthodox method to get rid at least of the love potion: I let loose a burst of raw energy, hoping that it would strip all the magic from whatever concoction they had drugged us with; with what you just said, it seems it worked and I'll be glad for that forever. If you want, I still have the food the Weasleys put their potions into, that should still be good enough for you to identify them."

"I understand, Mr. Potter; a strange method to neutralize a potion indeed, and one I suspect very few people can use effectively, but I understand the basic idea. Now, let's see this food you talk about."

Harry took her into the room he and Hermione had apparated their food to instead of eating it.

"Mr. Potter, this food appears to have been chewed, how is that possible?"

"Well, you see, we suspected something was not right when Mrs. Weasley started fixing our breakfast when we entered the kitchen, something she hadn't done for us since our little spat a few days ago; Ron being up that early, even for his mother's cooking, brought our suspicion to near certainty, so we decided to make it appear like we were eating when in truth we busied ourselves with apparating the food here instead of swallowing it. It worked, but not completely, and some of the potions still went into our stomachs."

"Indeed. Let's see what have we got here, then." The Healer went on to cast her detection spells and after a few minutes continued "Well, Mr. Potter, I have found what the potions used on Ms. Granger were. You were right in your assumption about what Ms. Weasley gave her, a love potion together with a pretty strong confusion brew; Those will be gone by noon tomorrow with no antidote. Just let her sleep it off and be there for her when she wakes up."

"Don't worry, I already planned on it; I'll never leave her side, no matter what. Now, excuse me, but I have to tell the Grangers about Hermione, I think they will be relieved to know it was nothing too serious." With that, he left Madam Pomfrey in the room and went to rejoin his parents-in-law.

Still smiling about the new description for Hermione's parents, Harry returned in the kitchen and, seeing he mother still quite worried about what happened, said "Mrs. Granger, are you feeling all right? I just finished talking with Madam Pomfrey, Hermione will be OK, but needs to rest. After she wakes up I'm going to have a little chat with the Headmistress. With the proof we now have, I can assure you those two will not set foot here or at Hogwarts ever again, and will be lucky not to end up in Azkaban. Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger... please, forgive me: I failed to protect Hermione, but I swear from now on I will not let anything else hurt or endanger her."

"Harry, don't be so hard on yourself; we saw you did all you could. Sometimes it's simply not enough, but that doesn't mean you are guilty of letting it happen. Hermione has the same problem with you, you know. You'll just have to learn to accept the fact that, as powerful as you are, you still have your limits, and cannot take blame for every evil occurrence that happens near you." Mrs. Granger tried to comfort the obviously guilt-stricken Harry.

"I know, at least in my head. But when someone gets hurt and I am somehow involved in the matter, I cannot help myself. Luckily, with Hermione by my side, there will be two of us to look after things: it should help me make less mistakes."

"Let's hope it ends soon then, and that you two do not end up in too many of those situations. Even if it seems that we aren't too happy with the soul bond thing, I really look forward to having a son-in-law and some grandchildren. You can still wait for some time on that one, though."

"Uh... well, thank you. I think we will want to wait too, don't worry." A slightly embarrassed Harry answered.

"Good. Come on, let's go keep Hermione company."

"OK. I still need to talk to Professor McGonagall about a more... permanent removal of those bloody Weasleys from our lives, but I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow."

The two Grangers nodded to Harry before settling down and wait for Hermione to be once again with her family.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling

**Unexpected Truths**

Chapter Fourteen

* * *

Harry and Hermione were sitting in front of the Headmistress' desk at Hogwarts, waiting for Professor McGonagall and auror Shacklebolt to finish watching the pensive memories of the breakfast confrontation with the Weasleys two days before. The Grangers and Madam Pomfrey had joined them, as victims and witness respectively, to provide their views on the event.

When the memories were over and McGonagall and Shacklebolt reemerged from the pensieve, the auror turned to the Healer and asked "Madam Pomfrey, do you confirm what you said earlier?"

The mediwitch answered "Yes, Auror Shacklebolt. I found both the love and the confusion potions in the food Mrs. Weasley cooked for Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I didn't have to administer any antidote because of what Mr. Potter did to neutralize the potions: he had already taken care of those when I got to Grimmauld Place. The only thing I could do was to advise the people there to let Hermione sleep."

"And what about you, Mr. Granger?"

"Well, we didn't see much. To us, it seemed that all the people at the table were enjoying their food, if not the company. We heard Mrs. Weasley shout to her children and then raise her wand towards us. After she used those spells on us, we blacked out and don't remember anything until Harry revived us."

"Very well. With the proof and the declarations I collected I can assure you the case is pretty straightforward, the two children will surely be expelled from Hogwarts" The auror turned to Professor McGonagall, who gave a nod, then he resumed "and if you want to press charges, they will be in Azkaban for at least fifteen years each. Their mother will serve slightly less, around ten years, because she didn't help in brewing the potions, but only in the actual drugging of Harry and Hermione and the stunning of Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Anyway, they should be out of your hair for quite some time. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes; Mrs. Weasley is a member of the Order, will that cause any problem with her trial?" Hermione asked.

"Let's hope it does not, the Order does not need to be even named: after all, everything that happened here is strictly a matter between private citizens in a private house. Nobody involved is a public officer, even if Harry is a high profile public figure. His involvement, however, will help things stay quiet, ironically, because winning him over is a perfectly valid reason to offer support in the minds of certain Ministry officers. It should also send a strong warning about what would happen to anyone caught trying to slip the two of you another potion. I'm sure it would not surprise anyone here to know that many witches, and a few wizards, would cheerfully use the same or similar methods to achieve that result."

A snort from Hermione and a head shake from Harry was all the reaction the auror got to his last sentence, but it was more than enough to confirm the disregard the wizarding world had for things like privacy and freedom of choice.

"Well, if that is all, I'll go and get things ready to arrest the three Weasleys. We will let you know about the date of the trials and when your presence will be required as witnesses. I hope you all have a nice day. Goodbye, Headmistress." With that, Shacklebolt threw some floo powder in the fireplace and, with a shout of 'Ministry of Magic!' stepped into the green flame and was gone.

The Headmistress decided it was a good occasion to speak with her students about something else "Harry, Hermione, all the people in this room know that you two have a mission to complete and then you have to think about how to destroy Voldemort for good, and that those are your top priorities. But I would like you would consider coming back to Hogwarts for your seventh year. I have thought about the circumstances you will have to work under this term and I've come up with what I think is a viable solution. I want you to accept the positions of Head Boy and Girl: aside from giving you your own set of rooms, something that should help with your married status while keeping it a secret from the student populace and the other professors, it would also give you a lot of freedom to do what you need with regard to the horcruxes, a freedom that I'm ready to expand even further as needed. You would have access to all the resources of the school and would be able to complete your education in the meantime. Hogwarts is also a very secure place to use as the base for your mission. What do you think?"

Harry and Hermione exchange a glance, then turned to their professor "Actually, with the exception of being made Heads, it's almost the same thing we would have asked you for. We agree with your reasoning... and you are right about the advantages of being Head Girl and Boy." Hermione finished blushing slightly.

Harry was not faring better as far as the blushing went, but said "We accept your proposal, However, there is something you need to be aware of. We appreciate all the help you are giving us, as well as what comes from the Order of the Phoenix, the DA, the teachers, and from anybody else. All the same, this is our mission: we will listen to advices and keep others informed, as appropriate, but all of that is just an added superstructure and is completely optional as far as we are concerned. Hermione and I are the fundamental unit, everything and everyone else, while appreciated, is not necessary. I know for a fact that, with Hermione by my side, we will succeed in destroying the remaining Horcruxes and in killing Voldemort: she is all I need to fulfill my destiny. This means that the moment one of those 'helpers' tries to exert too much control over us, they get removed from the effort: we are necessary, anyone else is not."

McGonagall blinked at the harshness of what Harry just said; she looked at Hermione and then at her parents. The girl seemed a bit embarrassed by the declaration, but was not refusing it. The adults were probably as shocked as she was, but their expressions were slowly changing to grudging acceptance and respect for the wishes of the two teenagers. It was not easy to swallow that bitter truth but there was no other way, and the Headmistress nodded to show her acceptance of the rules set by the two students.

"You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Potter. I hope you realize many will not be happy with how you want things to be done."

"We know. But, as I said, it's not like we will do everything on our own out of spite for anyone else. We will need help, we just do not want to be treated like chess pieces that have only to obey orders without questions or explanations. We will not follow blindly and stay in our little box until next time we are needed as a weapon. We already got enough of that from Dumbledore. We hope others won't make the same mistake again."

"I'll see to it that your position is made clear to anyone involved. After all, the only thing that matter is defeating Voldemort."

"I disagree, Professor; the only thing that matter is defeating Voldemort without loosing anyone in the process, or as few as possible. Forgive us if we seem selfish, but we will do anything in our power to not be on the list of the dead. We feel that our duty to keep each other alive should be our first goal, then our parents, our friends and so on. The main reason we want Voldemort dead is because he tried to kill Harry too many times already and, if we want a peaceful life, he has to be dealt with. Saving the whole wizarding world is far down our list of reasons to fight him."

"I actually understand. It's only human to be more concerned with those that are closest to us, those we love and that love us. The 'whole wizarding world' is too abstract a concept to really be a driving impulse, isn't it?. Let's just hope your reasons are enough and you deal with Voldemort as quickly and as safely as possible."

"Yeah. As I said, with Hermione I know I can do anything; we will destroy the horcruxes and then I'll battle and defeat Voldemort."

* * *

And they did just that.

It took them almost the whole seventh year to identify and locate the remaining horcruxes, a long and tedious process that had the two of them, but especially Hermione, holed into the library for days on end. It was worth it, though, because the reward had been great.

The destruction of the accursed objects, on the other hand, was a simple affair: why try their hand at the traps that Voldemort had put around the damned things, when they could simply reuse the method that Madam Pomfrey applied to Harry's scar? They simply took the horcrux in question and, with a team effort, severed its connection to the earth removing its energy source, then sealed the object inside an unbreakable shield. At this point they simply had to wait: it never failed, because the fragment of soul inside the horcrux usually tried to reach for another source, using up all its reserves quite fast, causing its own demise when the energy needed to stay 'alive' was cut off.

They also used a much more pragmatic approach when retrieving the horcrux, such as what they did with the one in Tom Riddle's old orphanage: they had determined the thing was inside his old wardrobe, but it would surely have at least a trap guarding it. Harry and Hermione simply resolved to take the whole wardrobe (adding a few cosmetic charms to the ones surrounding it to have no one notice something was missing) and include it fully in the destruction process: the connection to earth still had to come out of it somehow and it was just the same as with just the horcrux; only the containment shield had to be a little bigger.

A thing that greatly pleased Hermione during the year was that, even with their 'extra-curricular' activities, they managed to not neglect their duties as Head Boy and Girl too much, performing well within the acceptable quality for any given year. Although a low priority in their agenda, neither of them ever did anything with half an effort and it was a matter of pride they could still be the leading figures the other students at Hogwarts had the right to have.

Ironically, the final battle came the day Harry and Hermione were sitting for their Defense Against the Dark Arts NEWT. Hermione had already completed the exam, of course earning an 'Outstanding', and Harry was just beginning his when Voldemort attacked.

Even if the examiners were quite understandably scared of what was happening, it was obvious there could not be a better way to test what the Boy-Who-Lived was capable of in the precise subject of that particular exam.

Harry and Hermione had discussed possible strategies he could employ in his duel with Tom Riddle. In the end they decided for what was true-and-tested; since Voldemort himself was a horcrux, the same method used to destroy the others would work with him: Harry would have to severe his enemy's connection to earth before containing him in an unbreakable shield. The problem with this approach was threefold: firstly, unlike the other horcruxes, Voldemort would certainly not sit still during the process and would fight tooth and nail to break free of the shield. Secondly, Voldemort would still be able to use all of his curses and hexes, including the Unforgivables, as the shield was designed to keep energy from coming in, not going out. Thirdly, Voldemort would surely have a lot of energy at his disposal and, even with his supply removed, the couple would have to resist for all the time needed for him to deplete his reserves.

There was one thing in all of the process that Hermione found herself getting angry about: she had gotten used to being with Harry almost constantly and always doing everything as a couple, frequently using their bond to increase their accuracy and efficiency. In a way, they had become a single entity, thinking with one brain but acting with two bodies. Even with all that, they both knew only Harry would be on the battlefield dueling the Dark Lord. She could provide energy and encouragement, but the battle would be only his: he would have to be the one to cast both the severing charm and the shield around Voldemort and to maintain it while defending himself.

They both wished this would be the last thing they wouldn't be able to share for the rest of their lives.

The duel with Voldemort himself had confirmed what the two teens thought the problems could be. However, Harry, while less experienced with magic than his adversary, had the advantage of a younger body and a superior speed. This gave him the ability to dodge and avoid almost all the curses Voldemort sent his way. Only a couple of Cruciatus curses hit him: he had not kept up with the training regime needed for a full school quidditch tournament, but Harry had more than enough experience avoiding bludgers in the pitch and he could do the same with Tom's similarly moving hexes for quite some time.

The fight should have been essentially a contest to see who could go on longer simply because of the amount of energy at their disposal, but Hermione's help added considerably to Harry's own reserves and could also gather new energy from the environment as time passed. This advantage, in the end, was enough to tip the scale in Harry's favor and after almost an hour of running, jumping, rolling and throwing up every single shield he knew, Harry could feel the attacks from his nemesis slowing down and becoming less frequent. A look in that direction confirmed that Voldemort was having difficulties keeping up: it was a critical moment, because if Tom understood what was happening to him, he could begin saving his straight and drag the fight for quite some time.

Harry decided that he had to make his opponent furious and blind with rage and began taunting him "Hey, Tom, what's the problem? Are you becoming weaker in your old age?" then, after a couple of seconds, he used his trump card "Or is it that you feel like less of yourself is still around? Almost as if your very soul was smaller than ever?"

Voldemort was not simply a powerful wizard, but highly intelligent as well and didn't need much to understand Harry's reference to his soul. He narrowed his eyes at the boy as if to penetrate his brain and search for the information he needed, but Harry talked again before he could get a lock and use legilimency "Yes, Tom. We know all about your horcruxes, we have already destroyed all of them, including the one you did not even know you made, the scar on my forehead. At the moment, you are as mortal as anybody else, a condition I plan to change in a short time, I assure you." Harry ended with a smirk, the surest sign he did not fear Voldemort anymore; it also meant that Tom's reign of terror had come to an end.

The ribbing had the desired effect, and Voldemort, blinded by his own rage, started casting curse after curse at the insolent child that dared mock him. He didn't realize that the more magic he used, the less his life would last.

Tiredness was taking its toll on Harry, but he still had the advantage over Tom. With the furious barrage of curses he kept shooting at Harry, the Dark Lord was soon without the strong to even stand: whatever he tried to cast at that moment would certainly cause him to fall unconscious or worse.

"Look at you, Tom. Are you already tired? I thought you were the most powerful wizard of all times, what happened, didn't you sleep well last night?" Harry said in a sing-song voice; internally, however, he was deathly serious about the following minutes, as Voldemort was now a trapped animal, wild with fury and uncontrolled rage.

Any minute now he would explode in a last desperate attack, in which he would pour all of the energy he still had, knowing full well he would not be able to try again and had therefore nothing to loose.

When the dark lord next shouted the spell for his last killing curse, the resulting stream of sickly-green light coming out of his wand was really terrifying, because it was faster and much bigger than any other the evil wizard had ever cast.

Luckily for Harry, the killing curse had a fairly long activation phrase and with no wand movements required, the path he had to avoid was quite easy to guess. To make things more difficult for Voldemort he started zig-zagging towards him, never letting him have a clear shot. When Tom couldn't take the taunting anymore he let loose the spell, at the precise moment Harry reversed his body and the direction he would be running next: when the curse reached Harry's distance from the cage, the boy was nearly three yards to the side and had been able to avoid the spell with quite a wide margin; the curse dug an impressive trench in the ground, but that was just inconsequential: a curse that did not reach its target was simply wasted energy, no matter ho powerful or impressive it was.

Voldemort had indeed used up all of his energy, to the point that his body, still held together by the magic used in the ritual at the end of Harry's fourth year, simply collapsed and disintegrated into fine powder. Whatever part of Tom Marvolo Riddle's soul still inhabited the false body of the Dark Lord became visible as a small sick-looking green mist that quickly evaporated screaming incoherently the same way the other horcruxes had done.

Harry stopped for an instant staring stupidly where Voldemort had been standing just moments before. He could not believe that it was over. Slowly he turned to look around and, not seeing any trace of his enemy, let himself relax and shout to the sky "We did it! Hermione, we destroyed him!"

'I know, Harry, I saw everything. You were wonderful! I was so worried, because I could not be there with you.'

'Yes, I could feel that. Don't worry, I'm all right. I'm coming back to you.' He then closed the link to Hermione and set out to rejoin her.

After a few minutes the two were together and nothing could stop them from hugging and kissing each other.

"You know, the only thing that irks me right now is that I could not complete my DADA practical before the battle begun. I'll have to wait for who-knows-how-much to repeat the exam!" he started cheekily after they came up for air.

"That will not be necessary, Mr. Potter; we are quite ashamed we did not have the courage to join the battle, at least against the Death Eaters, but I can certainly say your DADA practical could never be better than what we just witnessed: you just defeated the most powerful Dark Lord ever existed, for Merlin's sake! And Ms. Granger here was more than helpful explaining to us what you two were doing. We assure you that this further display of knowledge's will not go unrewarded." Madam Marchbanks's, head of the NEWTS examination commission, couldn't have told Hermione anything more pleasant than that, but she had to correct one small thing: "Actually Madam Marchbanks, it's Mrs. Potter now: we are soul bonded so, by law, we are married. And I couldn't be happier about it."

"Well, forgive me for my error, but nothing of this was in your personal file, Mrs. Potter."

"That's right, we wanted to keep it a secret, because otherwise Voldemort would have targeted me even more than usual to hurt Harry. Now the danger is over and I can't wait to tell the world!" Hermione finished excitedly.

"We will tell everyone later, Hermione. Right now, we are both exhausted and we have to make up for the time we sacrificed to prepare for this battle. With no more exams either, I just want to be with you. Madam Marchbanks's, you considering the battle as my practical is a very good news, but I hope you'll forgive us if we leave you and retire somewhere more private."

"It's quite all right, Mr. Potter, we understand. Congratulations to you both and thank you."

"What for? ...oh, yes, I understand." Harry replied; he still hadn't wrapped his mind around the definitive death of Voldemort, and certainly did not think he should be thanked for what he did. "I wish I could say I did it for the wizarding world, but the truth is that I did it for Hermione and myself first and foremost: I wanted a world were we could live in peace and the bloody bastard was the biggest obstacle on our road." Then, turning to Hermione he added "Come on, Hermione, I think it's high time we stopped worrying about everyone else and started living our life together."

Hermione smiled serenely at her husband and nodded in agreement with his words. Hand in hand they made their way back to their room, for once forgetting about everything else but their love for each other.

_Fin_

* * *

A/N: Well, this was my first fiction ever. I would like to think it's not a complete waste of storage space, but it's not my place to say that. I hope you enjoyed it, I sure did!


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